PRINCETON,  N.  J 


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BOOKS  BY  THE  LATE 


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PrnfBBsnr  LEONARD  MARSH,  M.  D. 


1.  Apocatastasis,  or  Progress  Backwards.  A  new 
Tract  for  the  Times.  204  pages,  8vo,,  1854. 

In  paper,  75  cents  ;  in  cloth,  fl.OO. 

A  thorough,  keen,  original  and  learned  discussion  of  Spiritual¬ 
ism.  Shows  up  >the  modern  necromancy  as  but  a  feeble  imita¬ 
tion  of  the  ancient.  Takes  rank  easily  among  the  most  valuable 
works  produced  in  opposition  to  the  greatest  delusion  of  this 
Nineteenth  Century.  Proves  Spiritism  to  be  hut  Paganism  re¬ 
vived. 

very  learned  and  valuable  work.  The  author  has  dealt  Avith 
his  subject  in  the  most  masterly  manner.” — President  Felton. 

2.  The  Shadow  of  Christianity,  or  The  Genesis  of 
the  Christian  State,  1G7  pages,  12mo,  1865,  cloth. 

11.25 

This  work  deals  Avith  the  folloAring  topics  :  I.  The  Church. 
II.  The  Commonwealth.  III.  The  Pagan  State.  IV.  The 
Christian  State.  V.  The  American  Republic. 

Professor  Joseph  Torrey  said  that  he  regarded  RuskiiPs  ‘^Unto 
this  Last,”  as  his  most  A^aluable  Avork,  but  that  he  considered 
Dr.  Marsh’s  book  superior  to  Ruskin’s.  Either  volume  is  entirely 
independent  of  the  other,  and  both  differ  greatly  from  the  reput¬ 
ed  masters  of  Political  Economy  ;  yet  the  coincidences  in  their 
most  novel  and  most  original  statements  are  little  short  of  mar¬ 
velous.” 

3.  The  Bake-Pan  for  Dough  Faces.  By  One  of 

Them,  64  pages,  8vo.  1854,  paper,  -  -  ,15 

The  title-page  shoAvs  a  cut  of  the  primitive  Bake-pan,  with  the 
face  and  ruffled  shirt  of  President  Buchanan  just  under  the  lid, 
between  the  upper  and  nether  fires. 

A  caustic  treatment  of  the  question  of  slaA^ery,  ill-suited  for 
circulation  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon’s  line  :  A  landmark 
showing  how  far  we  have  moved  in  thirty  years. 

•  over. ) 


A  number  of  copies  of  each  of  the  above  having  come  into  my 
possession,  I  have  thought  that  not  a  few  of  Professor  Marsh’s 
old-time  pupils  and  friends  would  be  glad  of  a  chance  to  obtain 
one  or  all  of  them,  both  for  their  intrinsic  value  and  as  memen¬ 
toes  of  the  author.  They  abound  in  evidences  of  acuteness  and 
learning,  are  vigorous  and  logical  always,  fresh  and  thoroughly 
individual  in  matter  and  treatment,  playful  sometimes  and  some¬ 
times  merciless  in  the  use  of  satire  and  sarcasm,  full  of  the  con¬ 
science  and  conviction  which  generated  them. 

The  net  proceeds  of  all  sales  will  be  passed  over  to  Mrs.  Marsh. 
It  is  proper  to  add  that  the  books  are  offered,  and  this  circular 
sent  out,  without  her  knowledge. 

The  books  will  be  sent  post  paid  for  cash  at  the  following 
prices  : 

Apocatastasis  ;  paper,  40  cents  ;  cloth,  GO  cents. 

Shadow  of  Christianity  ;  cloth,  75  cents. 

Bake-Pan  :  15  cts  ;  Bake-Pan  and  Apocatastasis  ;  paper, 
50  cents. 

Apocatastasis  and  Shadow  ;  both  cloth,  $1.25. 

These  two  (in  cloth)  with  Bake  Pan,  $1.35. 

Two-cent  stamps  received  for  sums  below  $1.00. 

Please  address 

J.  E.  GOODRICH, 

Burlington,  Yt. 


Dec.  6,  1886. 


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THE 


APOCATASTASIS; 


OR 

PROGRESS  BACKWARDS. 


A  NEW  “TRACT  FOR  THE  TIMES” 


BY  THE  AUTHOR. 


nav  5s  70  Xivou^xsvov,  xai  xpo^ou  fJ-srs^ov,  ai5iov  ov,  XP'-I™'  'JTSpio^oi?,  xat 
<epio5ixws  avaxuxXsiTttJ  xai  a-TfoxaSirarai  a‘7o  7wv  aurwv  s^i  7a  aura 

5^X0V071.  Proclus,  Institut.  Theol.  C.  cxcviii. 

Translation.— Whatever,  having  a  permanent  being,  (folly  for  instance,  ) 
nevertheless  partakes  of  the  vicissitudes  of  time,  and  is  moveable,  useth  periods 
is  circularly  moved,  and  manifestly,  hath  its  Apocatastasis  from  the  same  to 

the  same. 


Burlington: 

CHAUNCEY  GOODRICH. 


1854. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  by 

CHAUNCEY  GOODRICH, 

In  the  Clerk’s  Office  in  the  District  of  Vermont  in  the  year  1854. 


CHAPTER  1. 

Fata  quoque,  et  vitas  hominum  suspendit  ab  astris. 

Manilii  Astronomicon,  iii.  58, 

Ag'spss  oupavio),  Nux^og  qjiXa  T£xva  fjt£Xaiv>]fj 
syxvxKioig  Sivy](it  'P'sptdpovioi  xuxXsovtsc:, 
avrauyeicr,  -TruposvTScrj  asi  ysvs-rjpsg  airavTwv 
[jioipiSioij  ira(fr]g  [xoiprjg  o'i]p.av‘rop£g  ovTSg’ 

6vr)ruv  avSpCAj'^r'uiv  Ssirjv  SiS'TTovrsg  arapTrov: 

sX^st’,  Orphica  H.  vii.  3-7. 

Ye  stars  celestial !  Children  of  black  Night, 

Wheeling,  enthroned  sublime,  in  circling  Orbs, 

Effulgent,  genitors  of  all  events, 

Who  Fate  obey,  and  who  all  fates  dispose. 

Their  lot  appointing  unto  mortal  men, 

All  hail ! 


“  The  sun  ariseth,  and  the  sun  goeth  down,  and  hasteth  to 
his  place  where  he  arose.  The  wind  goeth  toward  the  south  and 
turneth  about  unto  the  north,  it  whirleth  about  continually  ; 
and  the  wind  returneth  again  according  to  his  circuits.  All 
the  rivers  run  into  the  sea,  yet  the  sea  is  not  full ;  unto  the 
place  from  whence  the  rivers  came,  thither  they  return  again. 


4 


The  thing  that  hath  been,  it  is  that  which  shall  he  ;  and  that 
which  is  done  is  that  which  shall  he  done ;  and  there  is  no 
new  thing  under  the  sun.  Is  there  anything  wdiereof  it  may 
be  said,  See,  this  is  new  ?  it  hath  been  already  of  old  time, 
which  was  before  us.”  (Solomon.) 

The  Preacher,  doubtless,  speaks  truth  here,  yet  he  speaks 
somewhat  superficially,  or  as  a  mere  outside  observer.  He 
does  not  unveil  the  causes,  and  announce  to  us  the  Law  in 
obedience  to  which  all  terrestrial  things  not  only  “flow”  but 
revolve,  evermore  moving  onward,  and  onward,  without  let  or 
sta}^,  yet  evermore  returning,  and  coming  round,  full  circle,  to 
the  points  through  which,  before,  many  times,  it  may  be,  they 
have  already  passed.  Perhaps  he  had  not  investigated  the 
subject, — being  of  pretty  extensive  business  engagements — 
and  having,  besides,  much  other  literary  work  on  hand :  or 
perhaps  the  mere  “  weariness  to  the  flesh,”  induced  by  “  much 
study,”  which  extorted  “  vanity  of  vanities  !  all  is  vanity  !” 
“of  making  books  there  is  no  end,”  may  have  made  him  con¬ 
tent  to  assert  the  bare  fact,  of  the  incessant  and  stale  iteration 
of  things,  while  he  was  not  in  the  mood  to  go  into  explanations, 
which,  nevertheless,  he  may  have  been  very  competent  to  give. 
His  silence,  however,  from  whatever  cause  it  may  have  origi¬ 
nated,  is  the  less  to  bo  regretted,  because  other  wise  men  have 
spoken  fully  to  the  point  Avhich  Solomon  ovCidooked  or  neglec¬ 
ted. 

“  The  blessed  body  which  revolves  in  a  circle,  (the  visible 
heavens,)  is  the  cause  of  the  events  in  the  sublunary  wmrld. 
For  both  are  parts  of  the  universe,  and  they  have  a  certain 
relation  to  each  other.  If,  therefore,  the  cause  of  generation 
in  the  things  which  surround  us,  originates  in  the  natures 
which  are  above  us,  it  follows  that  the  seeds  of  things  which 
happen  here,  descend  from  thence.  And  if  some  one  should 
add,  since  astronomy  gives  credibility  to  this,  that  there  are 
apocatastatic  periods  of  the  stars  and  spheres,  some  of  which 
are  simple  but  others  compounded,  such  a  one  will  partly  ac¬ 
cord  with  the  Egyptians,  and  partly  with  the  Grecians.  A 
man  of  this  kind,  therefore,  will  not  deny  that  in  consequence 


5 


of  the  same  motions  returning,  effects  also  will  return  togeth¬ 
er  with  their  causes  ;  and  that  lives  on  the  earth,  generations, 
educations,  dispositions  and  fortunes,  will  be  the  same  with 
those  that  formerly  existed.”  (Synesius  de  Providentia.)— 
These  apocatastatic  periods  ('^rsptoSoi,  completed  revolutions,)  of 
the  stars  or  spheres  are  of  several  kinds,  as  intimated  in  the 
above  extract,  and  of  course  come  round  at  different  intervals. 
Two  of  the  heavenly  bodies  may  come  to  have  the  same  rela¬ 
tive  position  to  each  other  which  they  had  at  some  preceding 
time ;  as  when  the  earth,  at  any  given  point  of  its  orbit,  has 
the  same  relation  to  the  sun  which  it  had  a  year  before ; — or 
the  earth,  sun,  and  moon ;  or  these  Avith  one,  or  Avith  more 
than  one,  of  the  planets,  may  come  to  the  same  relative  posi¬ 
tion  Avhich  they  have  been  in  before,  and  this,  happening  at 
different  intervals  for  each  combination  of  bodies,  Avill  be,  for 
each  combination,  their  apocatastatic  period.  Or  the  entire 
number  of  astronomical  bodies  may  come  to  the  same  relative 
position  they  haAm  had  before.  “The  end  therefore  of  the 
mundane  year  is,  Avhen  all  the  planets  and  all  the  fixed  stars 
have  returned  from  a  certain  place  to  the  same  place,  so  that 
no  star  in  the  heavens  may  be  situated  in  a  place  different 
from  that  in  Avhich  it  Avas  bef)re.  ******  This,  hoAvever, 
according  to  the  decision  of  physiologists,  Avill  take  place  at 
the  expiration  of  15,000  years.  *  *  *  *  This  year,  therefore, 
is  called  the  truly  reA^ohlng  year”  &c.  (Macrobius,  in  Somn. 
Scip.  lib.  ii.) 

According  to  Firmicius,  (Mathesis  lib.  iii)  this  is  called  the 
greater  apocatastasis,  and  consists  of  300,000  years.  If  then 
Ave  suppose  this  period  to  commence  from  the  present  position 
of  the  heavens,  all  events  on  the  earth  for  the  next  300,000 
years,  or  15,000  years,  the  difference  is  not  much,  Avill  be  iden¬ 
tically  the  same  that  they  have  been  for  the  last  300,000,  or 
15,000  years.  The  successive  apocatastatic  periods  of  smaller 
numl)ers  of  heavenly  bodies,  instead  of  producing  the  same, 
will  produce  similar  sublunary  events,  and  these  Avill  be  like 
in  proportion  to  the  number  and  sameness  of  siderial  poA'.ers 
which  combine  to  produce  them.  So  much,  and  it  would  seem 


6 


to  be  sufficient,  as  of  unquestionable  authority,  we  may  rely 
upon,  without  the  aid  of  Solomon,  in  explanation  of  his  asser¬ 
tion  of  the  perpeutual  reiteration  of  things  under  the  sun. 
But  not  only  are  these  periods  different  in  duration,  but  they 
are  different  in  the  character  and  quality  of  the  terrestrial 
effects  they  produce  ;  the  periods  of  different  stars  or  combi¬ 
nations  of  stars,  bringing  about  different  results, — those  of 
the  same,  the  same,  or  similar  results.  “  Not  only  with  respect 
to  terrestrial  plants,  but  likewise  in  terrestrial  animals,  a  fertil¬ 
ity  and  sterility  of  soul  as  well  as  of  body  takes  place,  when  the 
revolutions  of  the  heavenly  bodies  complete  the  periphery  of 
their  respective  orbits  ;  which  are  shorter  to  the  shorter  lived, 
and  contrarywise  to  such  as  are  the  contrary.”  (Plato,  de  Re- 
publica,  viii.)  That  is,  the  apocatastatic  periods  of  some  stars 
are  shorter,  and  of  others  longer  ;  those  of  some  are  periods 
of  sterility  and  degeneracy  of  men,  animals,  and  plants ; 
those  of  others,  periods  of  fertility  and  excellence.  Thus, 
though  the  great  cycle  of  300,000  years  is  constantly  repeat¬ 
ing  itself  Avith  all  its  same  sublunary  events,  this  does  not  pre¬ 
vent  that  it  may  include  Avithin  itself  many  smaller  reAmlutions 
Avhich  repeat  themselves,  Avith  their  similar  terrestrial  results, 
at  various  intervals  ;  in  fact  it  consists  of  these  shorter  circum- 
A’olutions  :  “  With  centric  and  eccentric  scribbled  o’er. 

Cycle  and  epicycle,  orb  in  orb.” 

Avitness,  as  the  celestial  orbs  revolve,  and  come  to  their  various 
apocatastatic  positions, the  constant  repetition  of  night  and  day ; 
the  return  of  similar  seasons  ;  the  emergence  from  barbarism, 
the  culmination,  and  the  decay,  of  nations — return  to  the  same 
point  of  barbarism  from  Avdience  they  started  ;  and  this  process 
repeating  itself  perpetually  in  the  same  nations,  the  several 
mutations  exhibiting  essentially  the  same  phases  at  each  suc- 
cessNe  rcAmlution.  Yet  these  historico-dramatic  exhibitions 
of  terrestrial  eAxnts  Avill  be  the  same  Avith  a  difference, — the 
players  are  different,  or  if  they  are  the  same  (Plato,  de  Repub. 
Lib.  X)  they  are,  unfortunately,  not  permitted  to  remember 
hoAV  they  played  before ;  and  then  in  every  large  but  partial 
cycle  there  may  be  some  adjacent  body  which  holds  a  different 


I 


relation  to  it  at  different  revolutions  ;  or  some  interloping 
comet  may  cross  the  orbit  of  the  period,  modifying  or  disloca¬ 
ting  its  history  at  some  points.  We  are  not,  therefore,  to  un¬ 
derstand  Solomon  quite  literally.  We  are  not  to  expect,  in 
comparing  one  partial  apocatastatic  period  with  another,  or 
rather,  the  same  period  with  itself  in  its  successive  revolutions, 
to  find,  in  earthly  relations,  an  exact  parallel  and  identity.  It 
is  sufficient  if  we  recognize  a  strong  family  likeness,  a  charac¬ 
teristic  resemblance  in  most  things,  although  there  may  l3e  de¬ 
cided  otherness  in  others,  owing  to  temporary,  accidental  dis¬ 
turbing  influences.  Or  single  traits  of  the  most  decided  simi¬ 
larity  may  characterize  two  successive  periods,  traits  which 
may  be  quite  accidental,  and  foreign  to  their  true  physiognomy 
and  which  may  disappear  in  the  third ;  as  where  the  tails  of 
two  different  but  equal  comets  happen  to  pass  severally  across 
the  same  portion  of  their  orbit  during  the  two  contiguous  revo¬ 
lutions.  In  order  to  ascertain,  in  regard  to  tAvo  historical 
periods  Avhich  remind  us  of  one  another,  Avhether  they  are  really 
apocatastatic,  it  is  not  ahvays  necessary  to  consult  the  astrono¬ 
mers,  or  the  astrological  doctors,  to  knoAV  Avhether  their  begin¬ 
nings  coincide  chronologically  Avith  the  apocatastatic  position? 
and  as  it  Avere,  meeting  in  conclave,  of  the  same  celestial  nota¬ 
bilities  ;  it  Avill  be  sufficient  to  determine  by  inspection  Avhether 
they  both  belong  to  Plato’s  periods,  either  of  fertility  or  of 
sterility,  that  is,  Avhether  they  are  both  fertile  or  both  barren 
periods  in  the  Platonic  sense.  And  by  Avay  of  example  and 
specimen  of  such  periods,  and  of  the  proper  method  of  detecting 
them,  I  will  make  a  quotation  from  a  most  learned  and  very 
extraordinary  man,  one  peculiarly  well  qualified  to  have  an 
opinion  in  such  abstruse  matters,  a  sort  of  Christian  heathen? 
in  the  midst  of  Christendom  in  the  nineteenth  century,  a  man 
who  honestly  and  manfully  Avent  over  from  Jehovah  to  Jupiter, 
a  Julian  on  a  small  scale.  Listen  to  his  profession  of  faith  in 
a  Note  on  the  following  passage  in  his  translation  of  Marinus’ 
Life  of  Proclus.  “  But  he  purified  himself  every  month,  by 
the  sacred  rites  in  honour  of  the  mother  of  the  gods,  celebrated 
by  the  Romans,  and  prior  to  them  by  the  Phrygians ;  he  like- 


8 


wise  more  diligently  observed  tlie  unfortunate  days  of  the 
Egyptians,  than  they  themselves  ;  and  besides  this,  fasted  on 
certain  daj^'S  in  a  peculiar  manner  on  account  of  the  lunar  ap¬ 
pearances.”  So  far  from  the  Life  ; — the  Note  is  as  follows  : 
“  A  genuine  modern  will  doubtless  consider  the  whole  of  Pro- 
clus’  religious  conduct  as  ridiculously  superstitious.  And  soj 
indeed,  at  first  sight,  it  appears  ;  but  he  who  has  penetrated 
the  depths  of  ancient  wisdom,  will  find  in  it  more  than  meets 
the  vulgar  ear.  The  religion  of  the  Heathens,  has  indeed,  for 
many  centuries,  been  the  object  of  ridicule  and  contempt ;  yet 
the  author  of  the  present  work  is  not  ashamed  to  own,  that  he 
is  a  perfect  convert  to  it  in  every  articular,  so  far  as  it  was 
understood  and  illustrated  by  the  Pythagoric  and  Platonic 
Philosophers.”  I  have  called  the  author  of  the  above  an  extra¬ 
ordinary  man,  not  because  a  Christian  heathen  is  anjThing  ex¬ 
traordinary  at  the  present  time,  they  are  thick  as  autumn 
leaves,  but  because  few  of  them  have  the  magnanimity  to  re¬ 
nounce  their  baptism,  and  profess  publicly  their  adhesion  to  the 
“  Dii  Majores  et  gentium.”  I  desire,  however,  to  take  this 
occasion  to  acknowledge  my  obligations  to  the  gentleman  in 
question,- — not  for  his  heathenism  but  for  his  learning — -for  I 
shall  often,  in  the  course  of  this  work,  find  it  mueh  more  conve¬ 
nient  to  use  his  translations  than  to  make  them  for  myself,  be¬ 
sides  that,  in  many  cases,  the  originals  are  not  within  my 
reach.  Where  I  cannot  avail  myself  of  his  aid  I  must  not  be 
expected  to  translate  with  his  admirable  closeness  to  the  origi¬ 
nal  ;  I  shall  however  hope  to  give  the  true  meaning  of  the  pas¬ 
sages  cited,  or  where  I  am  in  doubt  I  will  give  the  original 
itself.  Such  show  of  learning  is  not  to  my  taste,  but  in  the 
present  instance,  as  the  reader  will  perceive  bye  and  bye,  it 
appears  to  be  unavoidable.  But  to  the  promised  quotation. — 
“  The  different  periods  in  which  these  mutations  happen,  are 
called  by  Plato,  with  great  propriety,  periods  of  fertility  and 
sterility  ;  for  in  these  periods  a  fertility  or  sterility  of  men, 
irrational  animals,  and  plants,  takes  place  ;  so  that  in  fertile 
periods  mankind  Avill  be  both  more  numerous,  and  upon  the 
whole,  superior  in  mental  and  bodily  endowments,  to  the  men 


9 


of  a  barren  period.  And  a  similar  reasoning  must  be  exten¬ 
ded  to  animals  and  plants.  The  so  much  celebrated  heroic  age 
was  the  result  of  one  of  these  fertile  periods,  in  which  men, 
transcending  the  herd  of  mankind,  both  in  practical  and  intel¬ 
lectual  virtue,  abounded  on  the  earth.  And  a  barren  period 
may  be  considered  as  having  commenced  somewhat  prior  to 
the  Auo:ustan  ao-e,  the  destruction  of  all  the  great  cities,  with 
all  their  rites,  philosophy,  Ac.,  being  the  natural  consequence 
of  such  a  period.  It  appears  to  me  that  this  period  commenced 
in  the  time  of  Sylla,  and  I  found  this  opinion  on  the  following 
passage  in  Plutarch’s  life  of  that  great  commander.  “  But 
the  greatest  of  all  (the  signs  prior  to  the  civil  wars)  was  the 
following  :  On  a  cloudless  and  clear  day,  the  sound  of^a  trum¬ 
pet  was  heard,  so  acute,  and  mournf  ul,  as  to  astonish  and 
terrify  by  its  loudness,  all  that  heard  it.  The  Tuscan  wise 
men  and  soothsayers,  therefore,  declared  that  this  prodigy  sig¬ 
nified  the  mutation  into,  and  commencement  of  another  age. — 
For,  according  to  them,  there  are  eight  ages,  differing  from 
each  other  in  lives  and  manners,  each  of  which  is  limited  by 
divinity  to  a  certain  time  of  duration,  and  the  number  of  years 
of  which  this  time  consists  is  bounded  by  the  period  of  the 
great  year.  Hence  when  one  age  is  finished,  and  another  is 
about  to  commence,  a  certain  wonderful  sign  will  present  itself, 
either  from  the  earth  or  the  heavens.  The  moinufulness  of 
this  sound  of  the  trumpet  was  evidently  an  indication  that  a 
barren  period  was  about  to  commence.”  (Thomas  Taylor, 
Translation  of  Firmicius,  Note  d.) 

Thus  we  find  the  weight  of  authority  in  favor  of  the  control- 
ing  influence  of  apocatastatic  periods  to  be  very  great,  and  wC 
need  no  longer  be  in  doubt  in  regard  to  the  reasons  of  the  it¬ 
erations  of  things  earthly.  We  see  too  why  the  smaller  cy¬ 
cles  of  events  may  repeat  themselves  with  a  difference,  for 
only  the  “  greater  apocatastasis”  can  have  all  its  relation 
identically  the  same.  It  is  manifest  too,  that  the  same  apo¬ 
catastatic  series  may  take  place  in  one  part  of  the  earth  in  one 
period,  and  in  another  part  of  it  in  the  next  period.  For,  sup¬ 
pose  the  earth  itself  not  to  be  one  of  the  celestial  bodies  whose 


10 


return  to  their  apocatastatic  position  is  to  give  character  to  the 
period  in  question ;  it  follows  that  the  earth  may  he  in  differ¬ 
ent  parts  of  its  annual  orbit,  and  of  its  diurnal  revolution,  at 
the  two  successive  apocatastatic  moments  or  points  of  time, 
that  is,  for  I  wish  to  be  understood,  at  the  instant  of  one  apo¬ 
catastatic  position  of  the  stars  that  rule  the  period,  the  earth 
may  be  in  one  place,  and  at  the  next  apocatastasis  of  the  same 
stars,  in  another  place.  Hence,  plainly,  if  the  “seeds  of 
things  which  happen  here  descend  from  thence,”  and  the  apo¬ 
catastatic  moment  is  the  seed-time ;  the  seeds  which  descend 
may,  at  different  apocatastases,  fall  upon  different  parts  of  the 
earth’s  surface  ;  so  that  events  which  before  happened  in  one 
hemisphere,  may  have  their  second  rehearsal  in  the  other  ;  or 
what  was  before  in  one  longitude  may  have  its  next  event  in 
another.  Hence,  too,  the  same  specific  events,  products  of  the 
same  “seeds,”  may  exhibit  widely  differing  varieties  at  the 
different  plantings  ;  just  as  specifically  the  same  tree  in  Italy 
will  differ  from  itself  in  America,  and  that  at  the  base  of  a 
mountain  will  be  quite  unlike  itself  at  the  top. 

But  whither,  quoth  the  practical  reader,  does  this  talk  tend  ? 
Ho  you  not,  then,  immediately  perceive,  my  sagacious  friend, 
that  its  direction  is  towards  the  most  practical  results  imagi¬ 
nable  ?  For,  if  it  were  made  known  to  you  that  on  Wednes¬ 
day  next  you  were  to  start  a  journey,  would  you  not  be  looking 
after  your  trunks  ?  Or  if  a  voyage  were  announced,  would  you 
not  hasten  to  provide  sea  stores  ?  Does  not  the  husbandman, 
in  winter,  make  ready  for  the  joyous  labors  of  spring,  because 
he  knows  that  the  apocatastasis  of  the  earth  and  sun  will  then 
open  his  fields  for  cultivation  ?  Does  not  the  merchant  raise 
his  wharves  above  the  ordinary  level  of  the  Ocean,  and  even 
above  that  of  everyday  tides,  because  he  foresees  that  the  re¬ 
turn  of  the  Sun  and  Moon  to  certain  former  relative  positions 
will  be  attended  with  high  water  ?  But  these  are  small  infiu- 
ences  of  one  or  two  astronomical  bodies,  repeated  at  short  in¬ 
tervals  ;  how  much  more,  then,  where  numbers  of  the  celestial 
spheres  meet  in  solemn  conclave  to  determine  again,  and  pre¬ 
determine,  the  whole  series  of  earthly  events,  it  may  be,  for  a 


11 


thousand  years,  not  only  in  the  physical  and  physiological, 
but  in  the  intellectual  and  moral  regions  ; — how  much  more, 
could  that  order  of  events  be  foreknown  to  men  as  they  fore 
know  the  succession  of  the  seasons  and  the  times  of  the  tides, 
might  such  a  knowledge  be  of  the  utmost  practical  value  to 
mankind.  If,  then,  by  the  aid  of  the  genethliaci,  or  other 
mathematical  and  star-gazing  people,  or  by  other  means,  as 
intimated  and  exemplified  in  the  quotation  from  Mr.  Thomas 
Taylor,  it  could  be  certainly  determined  to  what  historic  period 
our  own,  for  instance,  holds  apocatastatic  relation ;  what  a 
chart  were  it  in  this  uncertain  sea,  for  the  statesman,  the  phi¬ 
lanthropist,  the  divine,  and  indeed  for  all  men.  How  might 
nations  provide  for  foreseen  collisions  with  other  nations,  or 
guard  themselves,  like  the  prescient  ruler  of  Egypt,  against  a 
coming  scarcity ; — how  might  the  philanthropist  prepare  and 
adapt  his  charities  to  the  very  needs  that  were  about  to  de¬ 
mand  them  ; — -the  physician  prearm  himself  to  do  battle  with 
the  pestilence  which  he  saw  in  the  distance  ; — the  divine  fur¬ 
nish  himself  with  arguments  wherewith  to  combat  the  errors, 
delusions,  and  false  religions,  the  character  of  which,  and  the 
time  of  whose  arrival  he  knew  beforehand  ; — how  might  the 
fortunate  man  be  more  than  doubly  fortunate  in  the  preenjoy¬ 
ment  of  his  coming  prosperity  ; — and  the  unfortunate  strength¬ 
en  himself  against  evils  which  he  saw  to  be  inevitable.  How 
might  it  not  be,  for  all  men,  almost  as  if  each  individual  should 
be  permitted  to  repeat  his  own  life,  in  order  to  avail  himself 
of  the  experience  acquired  in  his  first  crude  and  unsatisfacto¬ 
ry  experiment,  in  order  not  to  do  what  he  had  before  done 
wrong,  and  to  do  better  what  little  if  any  he  might  have  done 
well ; — which,  who  would  not  rejoice  at  the  opportunity  of 
attempting  ? 

Do  you,  0,  doubting  reader,  doubt  the  reality  of  such  apo¬ 
catastatic  repetitions  of  terrestrial  events  ?  how  then  do  you 
account  for  the  solemn  asseveration  of  Solomon  ?  or  what  pre¬ 
sumption  must  you  be  possessed  of  if  you  yield  not  to  the  au¬ 
thority  of  the  “  divine  Plato,”  the  “  divine  Plutarch,”  the  “  di- 


12 


vine  Proclus,”  the  “  divine  lamblichus,”  and  the  Divine,  Syne- 
sius,  who  was  besides  a  bishop. 

Or  do  you  profanely  answer  me  that  if  all  events  on  earth 
are  thus  planted  and  predetermined  by  the  celestial  conclaves, 
the  “  conscia  fati  sidera,”  that  human  foreknowledge  cannot 
avail  to  alter  or  avoid  what  is  preordained  to  be  ?  my  unthink¬ 
ing  friend,  you  are  like  a  non-orthodox  sinner  caviling  at  the 
foreknowledge  of  God,  which  as  any  old  theologian  can  in¬ 
form  you,  is  one  of  the  most  pregnant  signs  of  reprobation. 


CHAPTER  IL 

Look  here,  upon  this  picture,  and  on  this; 

The  counterfeit  presentment  of  two  brothers. 

H.4MLET. 


Inasmuch,  therefore,  as  it  has  now  been  sufficiently  demon¬ 
strated,  to  all  men  capable  of  appreciating  an  argument,  that 
all  mundane,  and  especially  all  sublunary,  and  terrestrial,  af¬ 
fairs  recur,  come  back,  and  copy  themselves  apocatastatically, 
as  the  tides  follow  the  moon  incessantly  round  the  earth  ;  and 
since  it  must  be  obvious  to  all  properly  disciplined,  and  truly 
thoughtful,  minds, — notwithstanding  the  irreverent  scoffs  of 
shallow  sciolists, — that  a  knowledge  of  its  apocatastatic  where¬ 
abouts  may  be,  to  any  age  or  nation,  of  unspeakable  practical 
value  ;  may  I,  benevolent  reader,  in  your  opinion,  hope  to  be 
pardoned,  if  pardon  it  need,  for  what,  doubtless  to  many,  may 
look  like  a  very  presumptuous  attempt,  viz  :  the  philanthropic 
attempt  to  point  out  to  this  age,  and  to  this  nation  especially, 
its  true  apocatastatic  relations  to  the  past. 

First  of  all,  then,  is  the  present,  a  fertile  period  in  the  Pla¬ 
tonic  sense,  or  is  it  a  period  of  sterility  ;  that  is,  according  to 
Plato’s  own  commentary  upon  himself,  a  period  of  dissolution, 
degeneracy,  and  corruption  ((p(3opa)  ?  It  is  to  be  remembered 
that  the  baleful  influence  of  the  conjunction  of  malignant  stars 
extends  to  animals,  and  plants,  and  to  all  social  institutions, 


14 


as  well  as  to  men  personally.  (See  Repub.  Lib.  viii.)  To  be¬ 
gin  with  the  vegetable  kingdom,— -witness  the  late  Irish  fam¬ 
ine  ;  and  do  not  the  dealers  in  flour  already  announce  the  ap¬ 
proach  of  another  ?  and  more  than  ten  famines,  as  likely  to 
result  in  a  standing  famine,  and,  a  thousand  years  hence  to 
stand  forth  as  the  great  historic  event  characteristic  of  the 
present  times  ;  witness  the  potato-rot  !  !  Besides,  all  men 
must  have  observed  that  certain  species  of  trees,  in  all  places, 
and  in  all  circumstances,  seem  to  l)e  struck  with  a  fatal  blight, 
as  if  a  curse  had  been  pronounced  upon  their  race.  Witness 
also  the  exorbitant  prices  of  all  articles  of  human  food,  that 
infallible  criterion  of  scarcity :  and  I  think  that,  without  fur¬ 
ther  proof,  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  present  is  any¬ 
thing  but  a  fertile  period  for  the  vegetable,  and  of  course  for 
the  animal  Avorld.  For  can  beasts  flourish  without  broAVse,  or 
men  be  prolific  Avithout  potatoes  ?  In  regard  to  the  human 
race  moreover, — Avitness  that  terrible,  and  so  often  repeated 
scourge,  of  Cholera,  and  the  hitherto  unusual  extent  and  ma¬ 
lignity  of  yelloAv  fever  ;  and  are  not  these  sufficient  evidence 
of  the  moral  as  Avell  as  of  the  physiological  degeneracy  and 
corruption  of  the  present  race  of  men  ?  And,  then,  consider 
the  institutions  of  the  present ;  are  not  all  the  thrones  of  the 
old  Avorld  trembling  like  an  aspen  in  the  wind,  or  at  least  so 
aguishly  disposed  that  they  shake  “at  the  shaking  of  a  leaf?” 
and  are  not  Ave  on  the  very  verge  of  the  dissolution  of  the 
Union?  All  things  tend  to  change,  that  is,  to  dissolution, 
decay,  corruption ;  it  is  manifest  therefore,  that  Ave  have  en¬ 
tered  upon  one  of  Plato’s  periods  of  sterility. 

What  historic  period,  then,  is  calculated  to  remind  us  of  the 
present  time  ?  of  Avhat  period  have  the  characteristic  features 
and  lineaments  a  strong  family  resemblance  to  those  of  the 
present  ?  Do  not  all  men  of  historic  reading  turn  at  once  to 
the  latter  times  of  the  Roman  Republic  ?  Has  there  ever 
been  on  earth  any  other  republic  with  which  our  own  can  be 
for  a  moment  paralleled  ?  Thanks  to  Plutarch,  and  Mr.  Tho¬ 
mas  Taylor,  we  know  that  that  also  Avas  a  period  of  ster¬ 
ility,  and  also,  still  more  fortunately,  the  very  apocatastatic 


15 


point  of  time  at  which  it  commenced ;  for  it  would  avail  us 
very  little  to  know  to  what  apocatastatic  period  we  have  suc¬ 
ceeded,  unless  we  can  also  ascertain  in  what  part  of  its  orbit 
we  are  now  situated.  But  in  order  to  arrive  at  this  indispen¬ 
sable  conditioTi  of  available  knowledge,  it  becomes  necessary 
to  determine  also  when  the  succeeding  period,  that  is  our  own, 
had  its  commencement.  From  what  date,  now — or  have  we 
any  date,  from  which  to  settle  so  nice  a  point  of  chronology  ?  I 
fear  we  shall  not  be  able  to  find  any  record  of  the  repetition 
of  that  loud  and  mournful  sound  of  a  trumpet  “  on  a  cloud¬ 
less  and  clear  day,”  which  heralded  the  birth,  and  indicated 
the  exact  moment  of  the  advent,  of  our  apocatastatic  elder 
brother,  (that  is,  provided  Ave  prove  our  relationship).  And 
had  there  been  such, — unless  Ave  are  further  advanced  into  the 
period  than  I  incline  to  think, — beyond  all  doubt,  the  second 
advent  people  Avould  not  have  failed  to  make  a  note  of  it.  It 
is  not  hoAvever  necessary,  as  I  understand  the  Tuscan  Avise  men, 
that  identically  the  same  Avonderful  sign  should  present  itself 
at  the  ushering  in  of  each  corresponding  period,  but  only  that 
some  ecpiivalent  sign  should  manifest  itself  from  the  earth  or 
the  heavens.  It  is  recorded  by  the  elder  Pliny,  (Natur.  His- 
tor.  Lib.  ii.  58)  Avho  also  mentions  the  sound  of  the  trumpet 
spoken  of  by  Plutarch,  that,  about  the  same  time,  there  Avas 
heard  in  the  sky  sounds  as  of  a  battle,  and  that  armies  Avere 
actually  seen  to  approach  each  other  and  fight  in  the  heavens. 
Noav  unless  I  remember  incorrectly,  it  Avas  recorded  not  more 
than  thirty  years  ago,  that,  “  on  a  cloudless  and  clear  day” 
as  I  believe,  there  Avas  iieard  in  the  heavens  a  pretty  smart 
cannonading,  and  I  think  armies  Avere  seen  also  at  this  time. 
The  portent  was  supposed,  at  the  time,  if  I  remember,  to  have 
some  relation  to  some  of  the  Creek  or  Seminole  Avars,  while  in 
fact  it  might  have  been  intended  to  announce  much  more  im¬ 
portant  events.  But  as  this  “sign,”  though  perhaps  as  “won¬ 
derful,”  is  not  quite  as  Avell  attested  as  that  recorded  by  Pliny 
and  Plutarch,  it  Avill  not  perhaps  be  safe  to  rely  wholly  upon  it 
as  a  chronological,  or  apocatastatical,  starting  point,  on  an  oc¬ 
casion  of  so  much  importance. 


16 


How,  then,  shall  we  find  our  initial  point?  A  sarcastic 
whig  proposes  a  solution  of  the  difficulty  which  looks  extreme¬ 
ly  plausible,  and  which,  so  far  as  I  know,  does  not  violate  any 
law  of  interpretation  laid  down  for  such  cases.  I  am  so  w'ell 
pleased  with  his  theory  that  I  propose  to  adopt  it,  hut  as  I  am 
not  a  fighting  man,  in  case  I  should,  instead  of  being,  in  the 
usual  slang,  newspaper  way,  called  upon,  be  politely  called 
out,  to  defend  it,  I  expect  he  will  have  the  goodness  to  take  my 
place.  He  says,  then,  that  Sylla,  being  a  consummate  general 
and  Consul,  that  is  president  of  the  Koman  Republic,  is  to  be 
considered  a  historical,  or  representative  character,  and  that, 
as  the  period  of  sterility  to  which  our  own  may  prove  to  be 
second,  is  knoAvn  to  have  begun  in  his  time,  we  must,  therefore, 
look  for  some  corresponding  representative  individual  of  our 
own  time.  That  is,  we  must  find  some  individual  holding  e- 
quivalent  offices  in  the  Republic,  and  whose  public  or  represen¬ 
tative  acts,  moreover,  correspond  to  those  of  Sylla.  What, 
then,  did  Sylla  ?  My  friend  says  that  he  began  “  new  meas¬ 
ures”  in  the  State  by  putting  to  death  two  of  his  enemies,  or 
those  who  were  setting  on  his  enemies ; — he  does  not  say 
whether  they  were  hanged, — that  he  first  set  the  example  of 
proscription,  for  opinion’s  sake,  on  a  large  scale  ;  that  he  made 
himself  Dictator ;  that  he  trampled  not  only  on  his  enemies, 
but  on  all  the  other  departments  of  the  government ;  and  that, 
instead  of  executing  the  laws,  he  administered  the  constitu¬ 
tion,  as  he  understood  it.  And  I  think  it  must  be  confessed 
that  history  bears  him  out.  He  says  moreover,  with  a  lurking 
smile,  which  is  rather  a  sneer,  as  if  he  himself  may  perhaps 
have  been  among  the  proscril)ed,  that  it  is  no  slight  confirma¬ 
tion  of  the  correctness  of  his  theory,  that  there  has  been  an 
individual  in  our  time,  holding  the  same  offices,  and  in  all  his 
public  acts  and  relations  copying  so  exactly  this  “  old  Roman,” 
that,  even  without  naming  him,  there  is  not  a  man  in  the  Uni¬ 
ted  States  who  does  not  at  once  recognize  the  portrait ;  that  the 
public  character  and  conduct  of  the  one  are  so  perfect  a  coun¬ 
terpart  of  those  of  the  other,  that  it  is  impossible  to  account 


17 


for  it  except  on  tlie  supposition  of  an  apocatastatic  “  damnable 
iteration.”  Here,  tlien,  we  have  been  enabled,  with  apparent 
certainty,  to  fix  upon  exactly  corresponding  and  coincident 
points  in  tlic  two  periods,  which,  of  course,  determines  their 
chronological  relations  throughout ;  for  any  other  such  points 
are  equally  available  for  that  purpose  as  the  initial  points. 
We  may,  therefore,  feel  quite  independent  of  any  “certain 
wonderful  si^n,”  either  from  the  earth  or  the  heavens,  as  it  is 
no  longer  of  consequence  to  us  whether  it  was  accurately  ob¬ 
served  and  recorded  or  not.  Let  us  novr  suppose,  for  the  pres¬ 
ent,  that  the  historic  and  representative  acts  of  our  “old  Ro¬ 
man”  president  are  really,  Avhat  they  are  apparently,  apocatas¬ 
tatic  copies,  or  repetitions,  and  we  have  not  only  coincident 
points  of  the  two  periods  having  apocatastatic  relation,  l)ut 
those  points  are  obviously — if  any  one  may  feel  curious  in  that 
regard, — very  near  their  respective  beginnings ;  probably  a 
little  posterior,  for  the  “mournful  sound  of  the  trumpet,”  ac¬ 
cording  to  Pliny,  was  heard  duriu.g  the  Cirnliric  vrar,  which 
was  some  years  before  the  first  consulship  of  Sylla,  and  this 
also  IS  not  at  all  discordant  with  the  time  mentioned  by  Plu¬ 
tarch  ;  and  we  are  prepared  for  a  somewhat  more  detailed 
comparison  and  parallelism  of  the  two  periods  assumed,  to  see 
whether  they  can  really  make  out  their  apocatastatic  identity. 
And  first,  and  most  strikingly  characteristic,  standing  out 
from  the  historic  canvass,  obvious  even  to  the  blind,  are  the 
two  grand,  haughty,  all-absorbing,  overshadowing,  Repul)- 
lics  !  !  The  thoughtful  reader  will  also  take  note  that  these 
Republics  are  not  only  wonderfully  parallel  in  all  their  essen¬ 
tial  relations — for  how  they  may  have  happened  to  be  in  dif¬ 
ferent  parts  of  the  earth  has  already  been  explained, — but 
also  that  they  are  unique,  having  no  similarity  to  anything  ex¬ 
cept  to  each  other  ; — for  their  third  preceding  advent  lies  be¬ 
yond  the  horizon  of  history,  with  the  Trojan  wars  &.C.,  “before 
Agamemnon,”  devoured,  record  and  all,  by  tliat  old  Saturn, 
who,  swine  like,  eats  up  his  own  offspring. 

In  their  attitude  towards,  and  treatment  of,  other  nations 

3 


18 


and  governments,  how  are  these  Republics,  as  it  were,  the 
reflected  images  of  each  other.  To  compare  here  only  charac¬ 
teristic  traits  and  actions, — which  will  be  suflicient,— did  not 
Gen.  Jackson  whip  the  British  in  a  pitched  battle,  as  Sylla 
did  Mithridates  ?  did  not  another  of  our  great  generals  con¬ 
quer  and  reduce  to  a  province  of  the  Repulilic  a  great  part  of 
Mexico,  as  Caesar  did  Gaul  ?  and  as  the  Romans  gained  ex¬ 
tensive  possessions  beyond  the  Alps  and  the  Rhine,  so  have 
not  we  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Rio  del  Norte  ? 
and  as  the  Romans  insulted  all  the  Kings  of  the  East,  even 
the  “  Great  King,”  so  have  not  we  bearded,  and  snubbed,  the 
emperor  of  Austria,  and  called  the  Czar  by  opprobrious 
names  ?  and  as  the  Romans  welcomed  rebels  from  other  States, 
and  received  from  them  accusations  against  their  own  govern¬ 
ments,  so  do  not  we  ?  and  as  the  kings  of  the  former  period 
treinhled^  at  the  very  name  of  Rome,  so  dares  the  present 
batch  more  than  open  its  mouth  and  jjeej),  at  us  7 

Consider  also  the  commerce  of  the  ancient  republic.  At  a 
period  a  little  posterior  to  the  time  of  Sylla,  how’  immense,  to 
supply  the  incredible  luxury  of  Italy,  must  have  been,  by  the 
way  of  Alexandria  and  the  Red  Sea,  the  traffic  with  India  ! 
and  are  we  not  about  to  parallel  that  traffic  with  the  same 
countries  by  the  way  of  San  Francisco  and  the  Pacific,  to 
supply  the  same  insatiable  vanity  and  gluttony  ? 

So  much  for  the  foreign  relations  of  our  illustrious  prede¬ 
cessor.  And  if  we  examine  the  two  States  interiorly  we  shall 
find  the  resemblance  not  less  striking.  In  the  ancient  Repub¬ 
lic,  especially  after  that  ^^moimiful  sound  of  the  trumpet” 
announced  the  period  of  sterility,  corruption  and  decay,  what 
weary  and  sickening  selfishness,  mutual  proscription,  and  ut¬ 
ter  annihilation  of  all  patriotism  in  the  politicians  of  all  par¬ 
ties  wffio  floated,  like  scum  upon  dirty  water,  on  the  surface  of 
the  body  politic  !  This  state  of  political  morality,  Ave  may 
say  of  all  morality,  was  happily  characterized  by  the  conve¬ 
nient  phrase,  “omnia  venalia  Romae,”  all  things,  and  all  men, 
had  their  price,  and  were  in  the  market  at  the  service  of  the 


highest  bidder.  Here  too,  alas  ! — my  whig  friend  says  from 
the  time  of  the  man  who  walked,  step  for  step,  track  for  track 
in  the  footprints  of  Sylla  the  Dictator, — the  parallel  is  so 
<lisgustingly  complete  and  perfect,  that  Ave  can  only  point  to 
it  and  exclaim,  Avith  averted  face,  mournfully  as  that  solemn 
trumpet  could  haA^e  uttered  its  Avarning  note  ;  alter  et  idem  ! 
alter  et  idem  !  another  yet  the  same  !  another  yet  the  same  ! 

At  the  same  time,  AAdiat  a  development  there  Avas  of  the  a- 
daptive  faculty,  of  AA'hat  may  be  called  the  science  of  contri¬ 
vance,  that  instinctive  tact  Avhich  provides  for  the  indolent 
ease,  and  convenience,  of  a  rich  and  luxurious  people  ;  its  pro¬ 
ducts  so  splendid  and  gorgeous,  so  magnificent,  and  in  many 
respects,  so  exquisitely  comfortable— at  least  for  those  Avho 
Avere  not  employed  in  putting  up  the  fixings, — that  they  must 
be  supposed  to  have  been  patented,  certainly  some  of  them,  in 
a  part  of  the  period  at  Avhich  Ave  have  not  yet  quite  arrived. — 
And  then,  in  regard  to  public  improvements  and  facilities  ;  on 
Avhat  a  grand  scale  Avere  they  projected,  and  with  \Adiat  scien¬ 
tific  precision  and  perfection  finished,  in  those  days.  Witness 
their  broad  higliAvays,  constructed  of  solid  mason-work,  thread¬ 
ing  in  all  directions  the  republic  and  its  provinces,  extending 
even  to  the  far  western  ocean,  passing  through  mountains,  and 
across  largest  streams  by  bridges  Avliich  still  remain ;  their 
aqueducts,  by  Avhich  Avdiole  rivers  were  made  to  floAV,  high  a- 
bove  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  pour  their  limpid  treasures 
into  the  “eternal,”  and  other  cities  ;  and  also  their  associate 
washing,  and  soapsaving,  establishments,  called  public  baths, 
at  that  time.  And  are  not  Ave  competing  Avith  them,  though 
yet  not  fully,  in  all  these,  and  such  like  particulars  ?  and  do 
Ave  not  christen  ourselves  the  “  Age  of  Progress,”  exclusively 
because  of  our  “going  ahead”  in  these  very  same  directions  ? 
Though  our  road  has  not  yet  reached  the  Avestern  ocean. 

If  Ave  look  still  more  interiorly  into  the  everyday  life  of  our 
great  prototype  Ave  find  there  as  here,  then  as  now",  that  most 
incredible  of  all  meeting  of  extremes,  men  resenting  Avith  the 
most  indignant  pride  and  haughty  jealously  the  least  en- 


V-sW 


20 


croachment  upon  their  freedom,  surrounded  by,  and  domineer¬ 
ing  over,  with  tlie  most  relentless  tyranny,  men  whom  they 
had  deprived  of  all  personal  liberty.  The  highest  freedom 
delighting  in,  and  reposing  upon  the  foul  bosom  of,  the  lowest 
slavery  !  !  what  a  paradox  then  !  what  a  paradox  now  ! 
Then,  as  now,  they  had  their  foreign  slave  trade ;  then,  as 
now,  their  domestic  slave  trade  also  ; — and  ah  !  how  many 
parallels  to  the  most  touching  and  tragic  tales  of  “Uncle 
Tom,”  and  his  “Key,”  then  lacked  a  historian. 

But  more  interior  still,  and  infinitely  more  important,  as  un¬ 
derlying,  modifying,  and  to  a  great  extent  controlirig,  and 
giving  their  essential  character  to,  all  other  relations,  is  the 
7'eUgioiis  relation  of  men.  Under  v.hich  general  term  is  to 
be  included  the  sum  of  their  belief  and  opinions,  both  posi¬ 
tive  and  negative,  not  only  in  regard  to  their  moral  responsi¬ 
bility,  and  future  or  present  accountability  to  a  Divine  Judg¬ 
ment  seat  and  Judge  or  Judges,  and  in  regard  to  their 
practical  duties  to  Him  or  to  them,  to  God,  or  to  “the  gods  ;” 
but  also  in  regard  to  their  relations  to  other  spiritual  beings 
of  whatever  kind,  superhuman,  infrahuman,  or  extrahuman,  or 
to  the  disembodied,  or  unembodied,  spirits  of  men.  The  oiiin- 
ions  and  belief  of  men  in  regard  to  this  class  of  relations  are 
the  foundation  and  substratum,  or  rather  the  specific  germ,  of 
the  Avholc  humcai  life,  b'Oth  of  the  individual  man,  and  of  com¬ 
munities  and  states.  “  The  seeds”  of  all  outward  acts  and 
conduct,  not  pertaining  to  the  mere  animal  life,  “  descend  from 
thence.”  “Here,”  some  one  will  interpose  and  say;  “here, 
Mr.  Author,  your  parallel  altogether  fails,  or  comes  short.” 
Not  too  fast,  my  impatient  reader,  just  here  it  is,  on  the  con¬ 
trary,  in  my  opinion,  that  the  parallel  is  most  complete.  For 
what  was  the  characteristic,  all  inclusive,  overshadowing  theo- 
logical  dogma  of  the  ancient  times  wo  are  speaking  of?  “Ju¬ 
piter  est  qnodcunque  vides.”  And  of  this  deification  of  the 
all,  the  deification  of  the  parts,  was  a  perfectly  natural  conse¬ 
quence  ;  that  is,  pantheism  leads  inevitably  to  polytheism. 
Accordingly,  the  ancients  worshiped  the  Powers  of  nature,  un- 


21 


der  various  forms,  and  with  various  rites,  consonant  to  their 
supposed  attri])utes.  And  is  not  pantheism  in  our  time  also, 
proclaimed  from  high  places,  and  from  low  places,  and  practi¬ 
cally  believed  in,  in  all  places,  and  by  the  same  name  of  “Na- 
^  ture”  under  which  it  was  formerly  veiled  ?  The  Powers  of  Na¬ 
ture  too,  somewhat  better  known  perhaps  than  in  the  former 
period,  and  coerced  to  do  the  bidding  of  man  by  a  stronger 
magic  than  that  of  the  ancient  theurgists,  still,  are  they  not 
y  equally  helieved  in,  trusted  in,  worshiped,  in  fact,  and  equally 
y  as  in  the  ancient  time,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  idea  of  a  God  to 
y.  whom  could  be  offered  truly  spiritual  homage  ?  and  have  we  not 

>  the  same  natural  result,  viz  :  the  same  essential  atheism  ?  for 

>  pantheism,  polytheism,  and  atheism,  are  reciprocally  cause  and 
effect,  and  are  equivalent  terms,  or  rather  the  same  thing  under 

>  different  names,  or  Atheism  is  the  identity^  or  middle  term,  of 

>  which  Pantheism  and  Polytheism  are  the  extremes.  In  re- 

>  garATirour  supposed  relations  to  other  spiritual  beings,  es¬ 
pecially  to  disembodied  spirits,  or  the  spirits  of  dead  men,  the 
parallel  is,  if  possible  still  more  perfect.  The  ancients  be¬ 
lieved  that  the  souls  of  the  dead  had  much  power  and  Influence 
in  human  affairs,  ami  that  they  could  communicate  with  the 
living  in  vaiuous  ways.  The  Homans  therefore  had  their 
household  divinities,  which  were  the  spirits  of  their  dead  an¬ 
cestors,  presiding  over  the  fortunes  of  the  family,  and  Avhich 
could  be  consulted  in  case  of  doubt  or  difficulty  by  their  de¬ 
scendants.  They  had,  besides,  inunmerable  oracles  of  the 
dead,  fanes,  temples,  where  the  spirits  of  particular,  distin¬ 
guished  individuals,  could,  at  any  time,  give  response  in  regard 
to  things  present  or  future.  In  addition  to  these  sources  of 
information  from  the  “spirit  world,”  there  were  men  and  wo¬ 
men,  numerous  as  the  spawn  of  Egypt,  they  were,  in  fact,  in 
great  part,  the  spaAvn  of  Egyt,  by  whose  aid  all  sorts  of  spirits 
could  be  evoked  and  consulted  at  the  pleasure  of  the  question¬ 
er.  Is  there  a  parallel  to  all  this  in  our  own  time  ?  or  is  it  an 
identity,  the  same  thing  ? — “  Monsieur  Tonson  come  again 
For  are  not  we  coming  to  have,  for  each  family,  our  guardian 


90 


spirits  ?  some  father,  brother,  wife,  or  child,  or  all  of  them  to¬ 
gether,  who  can  comfort  and  advise  us  ?  Have  we  not  oracles 
where  the  spirits  of  great  men  are  constantly  consulted  ?  and 
for  those  who  can  anywhere  evoke  the  vulgar  dead,  could  they 
have  been  more  numerous  in  old  Rome,  or  even  in  Egypt  itself  7 
Here  truly  are  apocatastatic  evidences  to  which  I  think  no 
candid  lawyer  can  demur.  And,  on  the  whole,  are  not  the  ar¬ 
guments  which  go  to  prove  the  present  period,  commencing  at 
the  time  before  spoken  of, — for  I  do  not  wish  to  be  offensively 
definite  on  that  point, — apocatastatic  of  that  beginning  a  little 
before  the  first  consulship  of  Sylla,  amply  and  abundantly  con¬ 
clusive?  We  know  that  the  ancient  period  was  one  of  sterili¬ 
ty  from  the  mo  urn  fulness  oi  the  sound  of  the  trumpet,  wdiich 
indication  could  also  be  fully  confirmed  if  necessary,  but  no 
reader  of  history  will  need  any  confirmation  of  it.  We  have 
seen  too  that  the  present  period  is  one  of  sterility  and  corrup¬ 
tion  in  the  Platonic  sense.  And  then,  taking  the  tivo  great 
republics  as  the  central  points  of  the  two  periods  ;  how  nume¬ 
rous,  how  striking,  how  identical,  how'  wonderful,  are  the  coin¬ 
cidences  of  the  two  periods  thus  far  !  their  discrepancies,  how 
few,  how  slight,  how  easily  accounted  for,  if  they  were  of  suffi¬ 
cient  importance  to  be  accounted  of.  Surely,  and  beyond 
question,  if  there  is  not  an  apocatastatic  relation  here,  there  is 
plainly,  no  such  thing  as  apocatastatic  relations  at  all.  But  if 
the  two  periods  under  consideration  have  really  such  a  relation 
to  each  other,  (and  who  can  longer  doubt  it?)  and  our  own  is  to 
continue,  as  of  course  it  is  to  continue,  its  parallelism  with  its 
predecessor  ;  then,  my  countrymen,  to  what  a  future,  Dii  aver- 
tite  omen,  are  we  to  look  forward  !  !  What  seditions,  revolts, 
rebellions,  servile  wars,  civil  wars,  and  other  internecine  strifes, 
are  before  us  !  what  luxury,  corruption,  indolence,  cowardice, 
vice,  crime,  impiety,  and  superstition,  are  to  fall  naturally  and 
justly,  under  the  terrible  power  of  such  a  loathsome,  and  shame¬ 
ful,  yet  shameless  despotism,  as,  surely,  the  earth  is  never  poB 
luted  with,  under  the  conjunction  and  influence  of  any  other 
set  even  of  misanthropic  and  malignant  stars.  Meantime, 


f  men,  grown  desperate,  and  hopeless  of  help  from  their  gods, 
turn  more  and  more  to  daemons  and  impious  invocation  of  the 
dead,  as  if,  deserted  of  heaven,  and  despairing  of  aid  from 
thence,  they  wonld  fain  compel  hell  itself  to  their  assistance,; 
having  come  to  believe  and  hope  in  lying  spirits  which  a  pro- 
fiine  curiosity  prompted  them  with  unhallowed  rites  to  consult. 
“  But  (these  divine  men)  conceived  the  last  period  to  be  under 
the  dominion  of  Mercury,  to  whom  the  Moon  in  the  last  place 
conjoins  herself.  What  can  be  found  more  subtile  than  this 
arrangement  ?  For  mankind  being  purified  from  rude  and 
sava^  pursuits,  arts  also  having  been  invented,  and  disciplines 
disposed  in  an  orderly  manner,  the  human  race  sharpened  z7s 
inventive  power.  And  because  the  noble  genius  in  man  could 
not  preserve  (uniformly)  one  course  of  life,  the  improbity  of 
evil  increased  from  various  institutes,  and  confused  manners 
and  the  crimes  of  a  life  of  wickedness  prevailed :  hence  the 
human  race  in  this  period  both  invented  and  delivered  to  oth¬ 
ers  more  enormous  machinations.  On  this  account  these  wise 
men  thought  that  this  last  period  should  be  assigned  to  Mercu¬ 
ry,  so  that,  in  imitation  of  that  star,  the  human  race  might  give 
birth  to  inventions  replete  with  evil.”  (Firmicius,  Mathesis,) 
Certainly,  Mercury,, the  god  of  the  merchants,  is  the  lluler  of 
our  period,  the  god  also  of  the  instinctive  understanding  by 
whose  inspiration  the  human  race  has  sharpened  its  inventive 
power  to  a  most  vulpine  and  wily  sharpness,  having  renounced 
faith  in  all  higher  divinities.  And  are  we  not  fast  entering 
that  part  of  our  orbit  where  “the  seeds”  of  “more  enormous 
machinations,  and  inventions  replete  with  evil,”  having  already 
taken  root,  are  about  to  perfect  their  fruit  ? 

But  is  this  hideous  approaching  night,  of  more  than  Egyp¬ 
tian  darkness,  left  orbless,  and  without  a  ray,  from  the  angry 
skies  ?  lo  !  still  beneath  the  eastern  verge,  one  pitying  Star 
throws  up  again  its  mild  redeeming  light,  and  the  sinful  earth 
is  not  wholly  forsaken  of  heaven  ! 

Thus  much  may  suffice  for  the  general  pai-allel  of  the  two 
periods,  in  regard,  both  to  what  is  past,  of  our  own,  and  to  what 


24 


is  yet  future,  I  hope  however,  it  may  not  prove  altogether 
uninteresting,  just  at  the  present  time,  or  unprofitahlc,  to  the 
^  thoughtful  reader,  if,  in  one  particular,  viz  :  that  of  intercourse 
of  the  living  -icith  the  dead.,  including  its  cognate  subjects 
and  their  attendant  manifestations,  I  shall  follow  the  parallel 
somewliat  more  into  detail,  that  we  may  detcrmiine,  whether 
something  has,  indeed,  at  last,  happened,  “whereof  it  may  he 
said,  “  See  !  this  is  new,”  giving  the  lie  to  the  wisdom  of 
Solomon  ;  or  whether  we  also  must  confess  with  liim  ;  “it  hath 
been  already  of  old  time,  which  was  before  us.”  And  in  a 
moral  and  practical  point  of  view,  the  suloject  of  such  inter¬ 
course  m.ay  have  another  aspect,  for  some  minds,  if  it  shall 
^  prove  to  be  only  paganism  come  round  again  ;  than  it  presents, 
while  they  look  upon  it  as  some  hitherto  unknown,  unique,  and 
altogether  peculiar,  development  of  Nature  or  of  Providence, 
reserved  as  the  crowning  boon  for  this,  in-all-directions,  espe¬ 
cially  backwards,  progressive,  and  expansive  age.  Before  en¬ 
tering  upon  the  comparison  in  detail,  however,  it  will  be  necess.- 
ary,  for  the  sake  of  the  unlearned  reader,  in  order  that  he  may 
the  better  understand  quotations  and  allusions  hereafter  to  be 
y  made,  to  exhibit  a_very  general  outline  of  some  of  the  ancient 
doctrines  in  regard  to  the  character,  poAver,  and  possilde  influ- 
7  ence  and  participation  in  human  affairs,  of  several  classes  of 

y.  spiritual  beings,  and  especially  of  the  spirits  of  the  dead. 
W e  shall  then  be  prepared  to  enter  upon  a  serious  subject, — 
certainly  from  some  points  of  view  sufficiently  serious, — I  hope, 
with  all  due,  and  becoming,  seriousness.  Mean  while,  kind 
reader,  excuse  the  seeming  levity  of  the  introduction,  and  take 
these  preinitial  chapters,  this  apocatastatic  prelude, — so  it  be 
good-naturedly, — in  whatever  sense  may  best  accord  with  your 
•own  astrologic  whereabouts. 


CHAPTER  III. 


Cluum  multae  res  in  pliilosopliia  ncquaquam  satis  adhuc  explicatae  sunt,  turn 
perdifficilis,  et  perobscura  quajestio,  est  de  natura  Deorinn  *****  Pleriqne 
Deos  esse  dixerunt.  *  *  *  *  Q.ui  vero  Decs  esse  dixerunt,  tanta  sunt  in  varie- 
tate  ac  dissentione,  ut  corum  molestum  sit  dinumerare  sentcntias. 

Cicero,  De  Natur,  Deor.  Lib.  i.  C.  1. 

]\Iany  things  in  philosophy  are  as  yet  by  no  means  well  understood  ;  but, 
especially,  the  question  concerning  the  nature  of  the  Gods  is  one  of  great  diffi¬ 
culty,  and  very  obscure.  *****  Most  men  believCjin  the  existence  of  Gods. 
********  But  of  those  who  hold  that  there  are  Gods,  the  opinions  in 
regard  to  them  are  so  various  and  discordant  that  it  were  no  small  labor  merely 
to  count  them. 


Most  of  tlie  licathens,  it  would  seem,  were  not  as  “  perfect 
converts  in  every  particular”  to  tlieir  religion,  even  “as  it  Avas 
understood  and  illustrated  by  the  Pytliagoric  and  Platonic 
pliilosopliers,”  as  Mr.  Thomas  Taylor,  the  Platonist ;  and  a- 
mong  these  we  may  reckon  Cicero  himself,  though  he  also  Avas 
so  much  of  a  Platonist  that,  “  he  would  rather  be  wrong  Avith 
Plato  than  right  Avith  anybody  else.”  If  the  opinions  of  the 
ancients  concerning  the  Gods  were  so  numerous  that  it  Avould 
be  no  small  undertaking  just  to  enumerate  them,  I  shall  not, 

of  course,  be  expected  to  exhil)it  them  all,  or  even  many  of 

4 


them,  on  the  present  occasion.  Indeed,  were  this  in  my  power, 
the  purposes  of  this  tract  do  not  require  more  tlian  the  most 
general  outline  of  some  of  the  leading  hypotheses.  The  two 
most  important  theories  were  those  of  emanation,  and  of  evo¬ 
lution,  which,  taking  their  starting  points  from  opposite  ex¬ 
tremes,  met  each  other  half  way  in  a  common  polytheism. 
Both  held  to  the  eternity  of  matter,  and  the  emanation  theory 
to  the  co-eternity  of  spirit  also.  It  commenced  from  “  the 
good,”  or  “the  one.”  “The  principle  and  first  cause  of  all 
things  is  the  good  ;  and  the  good  itself  is  the  same  with  the 
one”  says  Proclus.  But  this  one,  because  of  his  perpetual 
exuberance,  remains  not  a  mere  barren  entity,  but  immediately 
proceeds  into  Being,  or  Being  itself,  which  is  no  other  than 
the  highest  order  of  the  gods,  otherwise  expressed  as  Intel¬ 
lect  itself,  or  the  intelligible  world,  or  the  di^dne  Paradigm, 
or  Exemplar  of  the  PTni verse,  where  all  variety  and  multitude 
are  contained  potentially,  or  in  “occult  union.”  But  it  is  ne¬ 
cessary  tliat  this  occult  multitude  should  be  expanded  into 
actual  diversity,  hence  a  third  procession  originates,  in  which 
multitude  no  longer  subsists  indivisibly,  but  is  perfectly  dif¬ 
fused  in  order  to  the  actual  diversity  of  things,  and  the  exis¬ 
tence  of  the  sensible  world.  This  third  principle  is  no  other 
than  Soul,  which  expands  the  impartibility  of  Intellect,  and 
unfolds  all  that  was  involved  in  its  unity.  After  these  three 
Principles  there  remains  nothing  but  the  gradation  and  di¬ 
versities  of  multitude.  But  we  are  still  very  high  up  in  the 
series,  we  have  not  yet  descended  to  the  furthest  and  outer¬ 
most  Stars  ;  for  this  Soul  is  not  yet  the  aniina  mundi,  or  Soul 
of  the  world,  but  is  the  Supermundane  Soul,  the  Demiurgus, 
or  Fashioner  of  the  visible  Universe  by  impressing  upon  pre¬ 
existent  matter  the  form  of  the  intelligible  Paradigm  as  near 
as  the  perversity  of  the  material  would  admit ;  and  by  pro¬ 
cession  into  it  from  himself,  of  a  lower  grade  of  Soul  than 
himself,  which  is  the  “  Soul  of  the  world.”  Am  I  rio-ht,  Mr. 
Taylor  ?  But  still  far  and  steep  is  the  way  to  this  “  terrene 
abode,”  and  to  “the  last  of  things  ;”  it  will  1m  safest  therefore 


27 


for  us  to  take  tlic  strong  hand  of  some  one  well  acquainted 
with  the  path.  “Having  thus  fabricated  the  body  of  the 
“  Universe  a  perfect  whole  from  perfect  parts,  he  placed  in  its 
“  center  a  Soul,  and  caused  it  to  pervade  the  body  through  its 
“  whole  extent,  and  also  to  infold  it  from  without.  ****** 

“  and  so,  from  all  these  causes,  he  generated  a  blessed  God. 

“  He  also  formed  our  nurse  the  Earth,  the  first  and  oldest  of 
“  the  Gods  generated  within  the  celestial  sphere.  Of  Earth 
“  and  Heaven  the  children  are  Oceanus  and  Tethys,  of  these 
“  Phocys,  Saturn,  and  Ehea,  and  whoever  is  of  that  scries  ;  of 
“  Saturn  and  Rhea,  Jupiter  and  Juno  and  their  brothers,  and 
“  those  who  are  descended  from  these.  After  these,  and  next  ^ 

“  to  these,  are  Daemons  who  inhabit  the  air,  are  always  near  ^ 
“  us,  thou  jJl  commonly  invisible  to  us,  and  know  all  our  ^ 

“  thoughts.  They  are  intermediate  between  gods  and  men, 

“  their  function  is  to  interpret  and  convey  to  the  gods  what 
“  comes  from  men,  and  to  men  what  comes  from  the  gods.  All 
“  intercourse  and  conversation  between  gods  anf  men  are  car- 
“  ried  on  by  moans  of  daemons.  When,  therefore,  all  the 
“  Gods  which  revolve  visibly  in  heaven,  and  those  which  ren- 
“  der  themselves  visible  when  they  please,  were  created,  the 
.  “  Generator  of  this  All  thus  addressed  them.  Gods  of  gods, 

“  there  are  three  mortal  races  yet  to  be  formed,  without  which 
“  heaven  will  not  be  perfect.  That  this  universe,  therefore 
“  may  be  indeed  a  Universe,  betake  yourselves  according  to 
“  your  nature  to  the  formation  of  animated  beings,  imitating 
“  the  power  which  was  exercised  in  your  own  production.  So 
“  saying,  he  poured  into  the  same  vessel  as  before,  the  remain- 
“  der  of  the  materials  from  which  the  Soul  of  the  world  was 
“  formed,  and  tempering  th  n  nearly  in  the  same  manner  as 
“before,  thoug'.i  with  only  t'ij  second  and  third  degree  of  pu- 
“  rity  he  finished  the  whoie,  and  drcAV  out  and  c  Istributed 
“  Souls  to  each  of  the  stars,  and  showing  them  the  Universe, 

“ he  announced  to  them  the  laws  of  their  existence;  that  it 
“  was  necessary  they  should  descend  in  n  bodies  possessed  of 
“  various  passions  ;  that  he  who  controled  them  by  reason,  and 


28 


TC. 


“  lived  virtuously  should  return  to  his  appropriate  star  and 
“  lead  a  happy  life  ;  hut  that  he  Avho  obeyed  passion  and  lived 
“  unjustly  should  return  into  another  body  and  bo  born  a  avo- 
“  man,  (Oh !  Kev.  Miss  BroAvn,  Avhat  enormities  Avere  you 
guilty  of  in  your  preceding  life,  Avhen  you  Avere,  bona  fide,  of 
the  masculine  gender  !  !)  and  if  that  Avas  not  enough  to  re- 
“  form  him  he  should  next  be  born  a  beast.  IlaAung  made 
knoAvii  to  them  the  laAA",  he  scattered  them  in  the  Earth,  the 
“  Moon,  and  other  instruments  of  time,  and  commanded  the 
“junior  gods  to  fiishion  mortal  bodies  and  unite  them  to  human 
“  souls,  and  to  rule  OA^er  and  govern  in  the  best  manner  the 
“  mortal  creature,  except  in  so  far  as  ho  might  be  the  author 
“of  evil  to  himself.”  (Plato,  in  Timaeus,  and  other  Dialogues.) 
Here  Ave  liaAm  a  procession,  gradatim,  of  pre  existent  spirit 
until  it  descends  into,  and  impresses  its  forms  upon  pre-exis¬ 
tent  matter,  that  receptacle  and  nurse  of  all  generation. 
(■tfao'Tig'  ysvsrfsws;  u‘7ro<5o^y)v) 

The  opposite  theory  begins  AA’herc  the  Pythagorico-Platonic 
hypothesis  ends,  Avith  an  eternal  matter  ;  not,  hoAvever,  the 
same  passive  receptivity  as  in  the  other  case,  AA'aiting  to  be 
acted  upon.  Motion  Avas  a  part  of  its  definition.  It  needed 
only  room  enough,  a  vacuum,  xsvov,  to  Avork  in.  Having  found 
space,  and  set  itself  to  circumgyrating,  each  atom  seeking  its 
priA'ate  fortune,  aud  meeting  at  length  Avith  some  felloAv  atom, 
compounds,  or  rather  concretes,  Avere  formed,  but  Avhence  the 
laAV  of  aflinity  or  cohesion  does  not  appear.  It  must  of  course 
have  been  latent  in  the  atoms.  Thus  the  four  elements,  fire, 
air,  earth,  Avater,  AA^ere  arrived  at.  From  this  point  there  could 
be  no  difficulty,  and  the  universe  evolved  itself  somehoAv,  em¬ 
pirically,  though  not  as  fast  probably,  as  it  Avms,  in  the  other 
case,  constructed  by  the  “  father  of  A\'orks.”  But,  not  having 
any  paradigm  to  AVork  by,  some  of  its  seeming  mistakes  may 
be  the  more  readily  accounted  for.  Thus,  in  due  time,  Avere 
evolved  the  earth,  sun,  moon,  stars,  planets,  plants,  fishes,  in¬ 
sects,  quadrupeds,  monkeys,  men,  demons,  gods,  mundane  and 
supermundane,  for  aught  that  appears,  quite  up  to  the  “super- 


29 


essential  one the  evolution  ending  where  the  Pythagoric 
emanation  begins.  Certainly  quite  a  remarkable  accident 
with  all  its  misfortuities.  This  is  the  most  ancient  develop¬ 
ment  theory,  this  side  of  history,  often  since  reappearing  with 
variations,  on  the  return  of  certain  comets,  and  in  our  own 
time  especially. 

P  These  theories,  however,  were,  for  the  most  part,  the  day¬ 
dreams  of  philosophers  merely,  rather  accommodating  them¬ 
selves  to  popular  opinion  and  practice  than  having  much  con¬ 
trol  over  them.  The  origin  of  the  everyday  heathen  theology  > 
I  with  its  rites  is  very  obscure.  What  seems  sufficiently  cer¬ 
tain  is  that  its  underlying  idea  was  a  kiiid  of  natural  uncon¬ 
scious  pantheism,  in  which  it  came  nearest  to  the  dcvelopmep^ 

!  theory  ;  asort  of  Nature-gods  of  every  rank  and  quality,  high 
and  low,  good  and  evil,  from  Jupiter  optimus  Maximus,  to  the 
infra-human  subterranean  elves,  being  evolved,  and  appearing 
everywhere,  like  electric  sparks  at  metallic  points.  The  sun, 
moon,  planets,  stars,  earth,  heaven,  ocean,  were  divinities,  as 
in  the  Platonic  theology,  besides  thosv  T.diich  presided  over 
mountains,  forests,  groves,  rivers,  springs,  countries,  cities, 
towns,  places,  (“genius  loci”)  caves,  mines,  and  individual  men. 
Their  number  was  innumerable.  Yet,  lest  there  should  be 
some  not  duly  honored,  there  were  also  altars  erected  to  the 
r  “unknown  god.”  Besides  all  these,  who  could  communicate 
with  men  directly  or  indirectly,  thg  heathens  everywhere  Avor- 
I  shiped,  and  constantly  consulted,  the  spirits  of  the  dead. 
Altogether  a  pretty  liberal  provision  for  intercourse  with  the 
‘^spirit  woj'ld,^^  and  for  getting  news  from  the  ^'■spirit 
to  use  the  slang  phrases  of  the  day. 

In  all  the  ancient  theories,  and  especially  in  the  popular 
belief,  these  beings  Avere  part  good  and  part  evil.  In  the  Pla¬ 
tonic  theology  there  would  seem  to  be  no  Avay  for  evil  beings 
to  originate  except  in  the  perversity,  or  rather  imbecility,  of 
matter.  The  universe  and  its  parts,  the  eelestial  gods,  have 
bodies  in  Avhich,  and  over  Avhich,  they,  as  it  were,  preside 
merely,  for  “the  soul  of  the  Universe  is  not  bound  by  the 


'(*  r  l\  %  It 


80 


tilings  wliicli  it  binds.  For  it  lias  dominion  over  them.  Hence 
it  is  not  passively  affected  by  them.”  That  is,  the  bodies  of 
the  celestial  deities  do  not  excite  passion  in  them.  But  the 
)>  Demons  of  the  middle  region  are  the  workmanship  of  the  “ju¬ 
nior  gods,”  and  their  spiritual  part  came  out  of  the  second 
soul-mixture,  and  so  is  of  a  secondary  quality.  They  have 
also  liodies,  of  finer  organization,  however,  than  those  of  men, 
to  wliich  they  are  so  united  as  to  be  subject  to  passion,  and 
some  of  them  exercise  malignant  passions.  The  development 
theory  could  of  course  evolve  good  and  evil  indifferently,  and 
Plutarch  says  that  Democritus  himself,  one  of  the  chief  au¬ 
thors  of  it,  believed  in  both  good  and  evil  spirits.  And  the 
y  popular  belief  inclined  perhaps,  more  to  evil  than  good,  so 
that  most  of  their  service  was  merely  deprecatory.  Much  of 
this,  however,  undoubtedly,  arose  from  the  innate  consciousness 
of  moral  accountability,  and  the  feeling  that  the  gods  would  be 
ultimately  just.  The_spirits  of  the  dead  also  were  partly  be¬ 
nevolent  and  partly  malevolent  towards  their  yet  embodied 
descendants  and  fellow-picn. 

These  beings,  especially  of  the  lower  orders,  were  ahvays 
present  with  men,  commonly  invisibly,  sometimes  visibly,  in¬ 
fluencing  them  in  a  great  variety  of  ways,  both  for  good,  and 
for  evil. 

Their  organs  of  more  direct  communication  with  men  w^ere, 
sometimes,  the  gods  of  elevated  rank,  but  generally  either 
the  Demons  of  the  intermediate  region  between  gods  and  men  ; 
or,  especially,  the  spirits  of  the  dead. 

The  methods  of  intercourse  between  the  two  worlds,  and  of 
prying  into  futurity,  were  by  means  of  Oracles,  Omens, 
dreams,  the  lot,  astrology,  magical  divination, — the  ancient 
mesmerism, — aided  by  magical  statues,  tripods,  rii  spheres, 
water,  mirrors  ;  and  necromancy  proper,  or  the  evocation  of, 
and  direct  conversation  with,  the  spirits  of  the  dead. 

The  intercourse,  of  these  various  kinds,  was  not  uncommon 
and  rare,  but  frequent,  constant,  and  among  the  daily  events  of 
the  ancient  heathen  life.  “  Chr3^sippus  collected  iiviumerahle 


31 


oracles  (oracular  responses)  yet  no  one  ^Yllicll  was  not  con¬ 
firmed  by  abundant  autbority  and  testimony.”  (Cicero,  de 
Divinatione,  lib.  i.) 

The  gods  however  were  not,  with  the  exception  of  Apollo, 
very  communicative  in  that  way  ;  much  less  so  than  the  spir- 
7  its  of  the  dead.  Oraculis  hoc  genus  (that  is  of  the  dead)  stip- 

>  atuTe^"  oidus ;  says  Tertullian,  the  world  is  crowded  with 
7  them.  He  is  speaking  only  of  the  public  fanes  and  temples 

and  of  course  does  not  include  the  “household  gods”  who  were 
also  spirits  of  the  dead.  These  gods  and  spirits  exercised  in¬ 
credible  influence  in  human  affairs,  since  nothing  of  conse¬ 
quence  either  public  or  private  was  undertaken  without  con¬ 
sulting  them.  The  pleasure  of  the  gods  was  also  constantly 
consulted,  especially  among  the  Homans,  by  omens  ;  the  augurs, 
wAose  business  it  was  to  interpret  them,  being  public  oificers 
of  the  state.  Sortilege  also,  or  consulting  the  lot,  in  various 
ways,  was  exceedingly  common.  But  besides  these  public 
and  legal  and  religious  methods  of  searching  into  futurity, — 
for  this  was  always  the  essential  purpose  of  them,— the  vari- 
7  ous  forms  of  magical  divination,  including  necromancy,  Avhich 
z'  yvere  private,  forbidden  by  laiv,  and  commonly  held  to  be  pro¬ 
fane  and  impious, — these,  for  sometime  before  and  after  the 
fall  of  the  Homan  Hepublic,  were  everywhere  the  rage,  and 
contributed,  no  doubt,  with  other  causes,  to  the  neglect  of  the 
established  oracles  at  that  time  ;  since  we  find  men  of  all 
ranks,  including  the  Emperors  themselves,  having  recourse  to 
these  sacrilegious  methods  of  gratifying  their  curiosity  in  re¬ 
gard  to  the  future.  The  elder  Pliny  says  that  when  this 
science  was  first  introduced  from  the  East,  the  Greeks  took  it 

>  up  not  merely  with  avidity  but  that  they  were  rabid  after 
it ;  that  in  his  time  it  prevailed  in  almost  all  parts  of  the 
world ;  that  inasmuch  as  there  w'as  no  man  who  was  not  de¬ 
sirous  of  knowing  the  future  in  regard  to  himself,  and  who  did 
not  believe  that  such  knowledge  was  most  successfully  to  be 
sought  from  heaven  ; — that,  it  therefore,  made  pretensions  to 
religion,  in  regard  to  Avhich,  however,  it,  more  than  anything 


32 


else,  (maxime,)  darkens  ike  minds  of  men.  (caligat  humanum 
genus.) 

But  it  is  liigli  time,  and  more  than  time,  the  reader  may 
think,  to  commence  the  promised  parallel.  This  dull  chapter, 
however,  dear  reader,  may  he  of  service  to  us  hereafter,  and 
as  I  hate  words,  it  shall  he  my  study  in  all  things  to  he  brief. 
I  shall  therefore,  for  your  sake  and  my  own,  restrict  the  com¬ 
parison  about  to  he  made  l)etween  things  presumed  to  he  apo- 
catastatically  related,  to  certain  theoretico-practical  opinions  ; 
to  certain  practices,  in  regard  to  which  I  shall  endeavor  to 
show  essential,  hut  not  ahvays  identical,  sameness, — -chiefly,  to 
those  which  were  anciently  called  magic,  divination,  enchant¬ 
ment,  necromancy  ;  and  are  noAv  known  by  the  names  of  mag¬ 
netism,  mesmerism,  biology,  physical  manifestations,  spirit- 
intercourse  &.C. ;  and  to  certain  opinions  in  regard  to  the 
character,  causes,  and  consequences  of  those  practices  and 
the  resulting  phenomena.  And  the  parallel  will  ho  mostly 
or  wholly,  between  properly  ancient,  and  present  times. 


1 


CHAPTER  IV. 

AXXa  ixVfV  v'uokriirTSov  xai  <rv)v  ‘twv  avSpwxuv  cpvifiv  •n'oXXa  xai  ifawoia  u- 
•ffo  “rwv  au'TTjv  <r£piS5‘aj-rwv  •KJpayjxa-rwv  (5i(5a;)(;^7)vai  <re  xai  avaj/xaff/Jrjvai. 

Epicurus,  apud  Diogeaeru  Laert.  L.  x. 

Apocatastatic  Translation. — “How  is  it  possible  for  man  to  be  “free,” 
while  pent  up  between  two  contending  forces'?  Reason,  the  soul’s  prime  min¬ 
ister,  replies  unequivocally  in  the  negative;  because  man,  materially,  a?id 
spiritually,  possesses  universal  affinities  which  he  did  not  create,  which  he  can¬ 
not  control,  which  he  cannot  destroy;  but  he  is  compelled  to  act  as  he  is  acted 
upon.'’  The  Great  Harmonu.  Vol.  ii.  p.  225. 


Sucli  as  is  the  Theoretic,  or  most  general  and  fundamental 
view  of  the  ‘‘nature  of  things,”  and  of  human  relations,  such 
are  the  practical  opinions,  and  such  again  the  conduct  of  men, 
whether  of  individuals,  or  of  communities,  or  of  periods. — 
And  this,  and  these,  again,  are  determined,  and  predetermined, 
to  a  great  extent,  by  the  character,  that  is,  by  the  moral  or 
voluntary  character,  of  those  who  hold  them  ;  whether  such 
views  and  opinions  originate  then  and  there,  or  Avhether, 
the  “seeds”  of  them,  “descending  from  the  stars,”  or  from  some 
other  superior  or  anterior  point,  find  then  and  there,  their 
fitting  nidus,  and  appropriate  soil.  For  all  'practical  beliefs, 
— not  mere  inherited,  professed,  or  pretended  opinions,  but 

5 


34 


— all  practical  beliefs  are,  for  the  most  part,  matter  of  choice. 
And  though  they  react,  and  often  strongly,  on  the  character 
of  those  who  originate,  or  who  adopt  them,  it  were  a  question 
not  easy  to  decide,  whether  they  are  more  cause  than  effect 
of  such  character.  What  is  quite  certain  is  that  they  mutu¬ 
ally  act  an]  reict,  eich  increasing  and  confirming  the  other. 
Hence  it  is  found  in  all  the  languages  of  men,  that,  all  men 
have  ever,  and  as  it  were  unconsciously,  held  each  other 
morally  responsible  for  their  practical  opinions.  This  truth, 
however,  is  so  trite  as  to  be  often  overlooked  and  forgotten  ; 
nay,  it  is  even  denied,  oftentimes,  by  men  who,  slightly  self- 
conscious,  obstinately  refuse  to  see,  what  is  quite  obvious  to 
everybody  but  themselves,  that  they  have  mistaken  for  truth, 
the  mere  shadow  of  their  own  wishes.  Certain  principles, 
therefore,  with  their  consequent  opinions,  are,  as  it  were,  con¬ 
natural  and  appropriate  to  certain  individuals,  places,  and 
periods,  so  that  by  some  law  of  spontaneity,  or  equivocal  gen¬ 
eration,  they  emerge  there,  or  however  originating,  do,  in  fact, 
come  to  take  possession  of  the  minds  to  which  they  are  adap¬ 
ted  ;  and  persons,  or  periods,  similar  in  character,  will  originate 
or  adopt  similar  or  equivalent  principles  and  opinions.  For 
man,  however  self-degraded  to  a  brute,  is  ever  more  than  a 
mere  animal ;  his  spiritual  character  asserts  itself  under  all 
I  circumstances.  No  7nan  acts  wholly,  like  animals,  by  mere 
^  intelligent  instinct  or  impulse.  He  must  have  “  principles  of 
coi.duct,”  implying  more  or  less  the  idea  of  duty  or  spiritual 
obligation  ;  and  inasmuch  as  incompatibility  of  their  conduct 
with  their  principles  is,  for  all  men,  a  relation  in  which  they 
are  ill  at  ease,  a  reconciliation  is  constantly  aimed  at,  and  by 
,  most  men  rather  by  adapting  the  principles  to  the  conduct 
I  than  the  conduct  to  the  principles.  Or,  if  it  is  predetermined 
that  the  conduct  shall  have  no  relation  to  the  law  of  duty,  such 
determination  will  be  accompanied  by  some  theory  which  shall 

exclude  from  itself  all  recognition  of  such  law  of  duty, _ the 

spiritual  asserting  itself  in  the  very  act  of  denying  its  own 
existence. 


35 


The  period,  >vith  which  the  present  is  to  be  compared,  was 
one,  of  the  most  active  intellectual  development,  conj  •)ined  with 
a  most  thorough,  and  almost  total,  corruption  in  politics  and 
morals  ;  relentless  oppression  yielding  incredible  wealth  for 
the  supply  of  a  luxury  more  gorgeous  and  magnificent,  and  at 
the  same  time  more  dissolute  and  shameless,  than  the  world 
had  hitherto  witnessed ;  manifesting  such  forms  of  vice  and 
crime,  that  lower  degradation,  or  greater  wickedness,  would 
seem  to  be  impossible  to  man.  In  such  a  period,  and  for  such 
men, — men  of  active  minds,  theorising,  philosophising,  specu¬ 
lating,  in  all  directions,  as  if  to  find  a  reason  or  an  apology 
to  themselves  for  their  conduct, — for  such  men,  the  Pytha- 
gorico-Platonic  theology,  which  recognized  a  Maker,  a  Provi¬ 
dence,  and  spiritual  accountability,  was,  plainly,  inappropri¬ 
ate.  Such  a  period,  and  such  men,  could  not  originate,  and 
would  not  adopt,  principles  demanding  sobriety,  honesty, 
morality,  religion, — there  could  be  no  affinity,  but  only  mutual 
antipathy  and  repulsion.  Such  an  atheistic,  or  pantheistic, 
development  theory,  as  that  of  Democritus,  or  of  whatever 
more  ancient  day-dreamer,  may  have  been  the  father  of  it, — 
if  it  be  not  rather  the  spontaneous  offspring,  at  all  times,  of 
the  minds  of  men  who  cannot  tolerate  the  presence  of  a  per¬ 
sonal  Deity  who  ‘fiaketh  account”  of  human  conduct, — such  a 
theory  was  a  seed  much  more  likely  to  take  root  and  bring 
forth  fruit  in  such  a  soil.  This  theory,  accordingly,  after  its 

Epicurean  modification  ; - which,  appeasing  somewhat  the 

Nemesis  of  conscience  by  admitting  the  existence  of  “the 
gods,”  while  at  the  same  time  it  represented  them  as  wholly 
indifferent  to  human  affairs, — became  a  more  permanent  and 
hopeless,  because  less  disquieting,  form  of  atheism,  than  the 
total  denial  of  the  existence  of  the  Deity  ;  and  Avhile  it  spoke 
beautifully  of  the  beauty  and  pleasure  of  virtue  and  piety,  as 
worthy  to  be  practiced  for  their  own  sake,  and  of  the  happi¬ 
ness  of  conformity  to  the  physical  laivs  of  man’s  organism, 
y  and  so  lulled  the  soul  with  a  Syren-song, — for  if^appiness  is 
-  the  end,  are  not  the  means  a  matter  of  taste  not  to  be  disputed 


V  'si 


36 


about  ?  and  wliat  are  the  laws  of  the  organism  but  the  natural 
impulses  of  the  organs  ?— by  removing  the  only  restraints 
which  could  control,  and  the  only  incitements  to  viitue  which 
could  influence,  corrupt  and  wicked  men,  and  by  furnishing 
them,  at  the  same  time,  with  what  tiiey  most  of  all  desiied, 
principles,  conformable  to  their  predetermined  conduct,  it 
made  reformation  hopeless  by  seeming  to  make  vice  both  safe 
and  reasonable.  This  theory,  so  modified,  became  the  main 
source  of  the  “principles  of  conduct”  for  the  leading  men  of 
the  period  in  question.  What  rendered  this  theory  so  accep¬ 
table  and  welcome  to  those  already  predisposed  to  receive  it, 
^  ^yas,— both  before  and  after  its  modification, — its  total  abro- 
gation  of  the  law  of  duty,  its  practical  denial  of  all  propcily 
spiritual  accountability.  For  what  cared  the  men  of  that 
period,  what  care  the  profligate  and  licentious,  the  vicious  and 
the  wicked,  of  any  period,  for  mere  physical  responsibility  to 
the  violated  “Laws  of  Nature,”  if  any  sophistry  can  even  but 
half  persuade  them  that  the  conscience  which  makes  cowards 
of  them,  the  fearful  looking-for  of  future  retribution  at  the 
hands  of  a  personal,  holy,  and  just  Judge,  are  but  the  shadoi\s 
of  groundless  fears,  the  uneradicated  supeistitions  of  the  nui- 
sery  1  Let  those  embrace  virtue  who  find  her  lovely ;  to  them 
she  is  neither  beautiful  nor  desirable  5  and  are  they  not  as 
much  entitled  to  their  choice  of  happiness  as  those  who  seek 
it  in  a  different  form  ?  and  if  they  sometimes  carry  their  en¬ 
joyment  to  what  some  are  pleased  to  call  excess  do  they  not 
at  least  make  sure  of  it  ?  if  the  Laws  of  Nature  are  offended 
have  they  not  antidotes  wheroAvith  to  appease,  or  can  they  not 
cheat,  blind  nature,  or  reform  in  time  to  prevent  unpleasant 
consequences  ?  Or  if  they  deliberately  prefer  a  short  life  and 
a  merry  one  to  the  tedium  of  a  stupid  life  of  sobriety  and  vir¬ 
tue,  have  they  not  a  right  to  choose  for  themselves  ?  It  A\as 
not  so  much  its  denial  of  a  future  life,  Avhich  was  a  part  of 
the  modification  of  this  theory,  which  part,  however,  compara¬ 
tively  few  adopted,  as  it  Avas  its  view  of  the  “Nature  of  things,” 
and  of  the  character  of  the  Gods,  Avhich  made  it  so  soothing 


V  V 


37 


and  welcome  an  application  to  the  conscience,  and  gave  to  it 
its  peculiar  influence.  For  the  Gods  wore  wholly  removed 
from  human  affairs,  and  indiff'erent  to  human  conduct,  neither 
rewarding  nor  punishing  them  except  by  the  physical  conse¬ 
quences  of  their  actions,  and  therefore  the  fear  of  death  was 
effectually  taken  away,  even  for  those  Avho  did  not  believe  it  to 
be  the  termination  of  existence.  Such  views  of  man’s  rela¬ 
tion  to  the  Deity,  propagated  by  leading  minds,  and  gradually 
pervading  all  ranks  of  men,  must  have  reacted  strongly  to 
quicken  the  development  of  that  kind  of  character  which  al¬ 
ready  demanded  them.  And  of  the  correctness  of  such  views 
what  stronger  confirmation  could  be  given  than  such  examples 
of  successful  wickedness,  “unwhipt  of  justice,”  as  that  of  Syl- 
la,  and  of  Augustus,  and  indeed  of  Rome  herself,  as  the  mis¬ 
tress  of  the  world?  Add  to  this  the  views  of  Nature  which 
belonged  to  the  same  theory,  as  a  machine  setting  itself  in 
motion,  or  if  set  in  motion  by  the  gods,  evolving,  without  their 
^  further  care,  whatever  it  may  evolve, — a  self-developing 
^  universe.  Considering  that  it  commenced  as  a  chaos  of  indi¬ 
visible  atoms  having  only  vague  likings  and  dislikings,  it  had 
already  done  much  ;  it  had  really  become  a  very  splendid  and 
efficient  piece  of  machinery,  and  what  new  products  might  not 
now  1)0  expected  from  it.  For,  according  to  this  vievf,  it  was, 
plainly,  no  apocatastatic  contrivance,  everlastingly  reiterating 
itself,  and  recurring  to  the  same  points, — else  it  never  would 
have  arrived  at  its  present  point  of  evolution, — but  a  progress 
in  a  straight  line,  evermore  arriving  at  new  regions.  It  had 
evolved  man  with  his  present  life  and  why  not  a  future  life  ? 
had  not  Caesar,  who  was  once  known  to  cry  like  a  sick  girl 
“give  me  some  drink,”  and  “help  me  Cassius,”  become  a  god  ? 
and  had  not  Caesar’s  horse  come  to  be  Consul  ?  The  human 
mind  had  been  evolved  to  know  much,  of  visible  things,  why  not 
of  invisible  ?  it  had  explored  in  all  directions  the  present  life, 
why  not  the  future  ?  it  could  take  knowledge  of  the  distant  in 
space,  why  not  of  the  distant  in  time  ?  did  not  the  evolution 
manifestly  tend  to  the  convergence  of  all  intelligence  and  pow- 


38 


er  in  man  as  the  lord  as  well  as  the  product  of  Nature  /  was 
not  Rome  the  earthly  Providence,  and  did  not  Caesar  already 
hold  divided  empire  with  Jupiter?  might  there  not  be  some 
magic  word  of  power  which  would  enable  him  to  contr  1,  not 
only  nature,  but  the  gods  themselves  ?  which  should  compel  all 
spirits,  whether  of  unembodied  or  disembodied,  men,  of  heroes, 
demons,  gods,  to  make  known  their  secrets,  and  to  unfold  to 
men  the  future  ?  Such  were  some  of  the  last  results  of  the 
ancient  theory  of  progress ;  so  thought  and  so  experimented 
our  apocatastatic  predecessors.  (Plin.  Nat.  Hist.  L.  xxx.  v.) 
A  way  of  looking  at  the  “nature  of  things”  admirably  adap¬ 
ted  to  keep  alive  curiosity,  to  UAvaken  expectation,  and  to  make 
credible  whatever  new  and  wonderful  things  might  manifest, 
or  seem  to  manifest,  themselves  ;  a  way  indeed,  that  might 
make  dovdJy  credulous  credulity  itself.  Such,  and  such-like 
fundamental  principles,  in  regard  to  the  “nature  of  things,” 
and  in  regard  to  the  nature  of  the  gods,  together  with  the 
popular  belief  in  regard  to  man’s  relations  to  the  dead,  and  to 
other  spirits,  must  have  tended  strongly,  notwithstanding  the 
Epicurean  denial  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  to  produce 
that  outburst  of  impious  curiosity  in  regard  to  the  future,  at¬ 
tempting  to  satisfy  itself  by  sacrilegious  experiments  in  regard 
to  man’s  power  to  evoke  and  compel  spirits,  which  character¬ 
ized  the  period  under  consideration  ;  although,  doubtless,  the 
>  maddening  excitements  of  political  parties,  and  during  the 
latter  part  of  the  period,  at  which  ive  have  not  yet  arrived, 
every  man’s  fear  for  his  life,  which  hung  upon  the  caprice  of  a 
despot,  must  have  super-added  to  curiosity,  intense  anxiety, 
to  know,  not  only  his  own  future,  but  that  of  his  enemies  also. 
Certain  it  is,  that,  during  the  last  century  of  the  Roman  Re¬ 
public,  and  the  first  centuries  of  the  Empire,  men  seemed 
madly  resolved,  by  whatever  means,  and  at  Avhatever  cost,  and 
hazard,  to  rend  the  veil  which  conceals  the  future  from  the 
present,  though  it  were  necessary  to  assault  the  heavens,  or  to 
make  descent  upon  hell  itself. 

That  our  own  period  is  not  in  all  these  respects  yet  quite 


39 


parallel  to  its  predecessor  may  be  true,  but  it  is  to  be  remem¬ 
bered  that  we  are  yet  near  its  commencement.  Our  wealth  is 
yet  rapidly  increasing,  and  so  our  luxury  and  consequent  vices 
and  crimes  have  not  arrived  at  their  acme.  Our  political  par¬ 
ties  have  not  yet  quite  reached  the  point  where  to  the  victors 
belong  not  only  the  spoils,  but  the  lives,  also,  of  the  minority  ; 
and  we  are  yet,  it  may  be,  a  hundred  jmars  from  the  evolution 
of  a  Caesar,  and  the  establishment  of  the  Empire.  But  our 
business  in  the  present  chapter  is  with  principles  and  opinions, 
and  here  I  think  we  shall  find  the  parallelism  pretty  fairly 
commenced.  To  say  nothing  of  older  pantheistic  theories  and  C 
pantheistic  men,  as  Spinoza,  Hobbes,  &c.,  or  of  the  atheistic  c. 
spawn  of  Germany,  not  without  their  influence,  direct  or  indi-  4 
rect,  now  and  here  ;  have  we  not,  in  our  own  time,  and  Ian- 
guage,  popular  writers  of  highest  talents,  who  with  wide,  deep,  ^ 
and  insidious  poAver,  subvert  the  foundations  of  all  proper  ^ 

human  responsibility? - for  pantheism,  and  the  ‘‘Eternal  ^ 

LaAvs,”  knoAV,  or  teach,  onh’-  the  responsibility  appropriate  to  ^ 
animals.  Wide-spread,  and  fearful  to  the  humanity  in  men  is 
this  influence.  Witness,  as  a  single  specimen  of  it,  in  ‘-The  ^ 
Life”  of  poor  Sterling,  a  soul  capable  of  the  truest  and  fullest  c, 
spiritual  life  and  deA'elopment,  perishing  in  the  serpent  folds  < 
of  atheistic  sophistry,  like  an  unhappy  beast  in  the  embrace 
of  the  anaconda. 

As  for  development  theories,  Avliicli  come  next  in  the  order 
of  evolution  after  atheism, — for  Avhere  there  is  no  Creator  the 
Universe  must  be  gotten  up  in  some  other  AA'ay, — 0,  Democri¬ 
tus,  Avith  AA'liat  undreamed-of  apocatastatic  honors  has  your 
dreaming  head  been  croAvned  !  “a  hundred  sons  and  CA'ery  son 
a  god  !”  and  competent,  every  one,  to  the  highest  functions  of 
Deity.  Well  may  these  aAvaken  expectation,  as  indeed  they 
have.  For  instance,  we  are  looking  daily  for  the  advmnt  of 
the  “NeAY  Man  but  AAdiether  to  be  OAmlved  out  of  the  old 
one,  or  in  some  more  kindred  line  of  development,  as  in  that, 
it  may  be,  of  the  innocent,  non-carniverous,  fruit-consuming 
Simiac — on  this  point  we  are  in  doubt.  This  wo  know,  that 


40 


oftentimes,  of  late,  he  has  attempted  to  be  born,  of  the  old  effete 
humanity,  but  though  the  throes  are  strong  and  even  convul¬ 
sive,  they  never  prove  sufficient  to  bring  him  to  the  birth. — 
The  vis  vitae  of  the  race  seems  too  weak  for  such  a  product. 
We  may,  therefore,  among  other  things,  expect  that  the  scep¬ 
tre  is  about  to  depart  from  our  house.  “  The  perfectibility  of 
the  human  race,”  therefore,  which  our  pride  prompts  us  to  be¬ 
lieve  in  as  the  natural  order  of  evolution,  may  prove  a  problem 
too  hard  for  the  outworking  poAvers,  and  may  compel  them, 
in  order  to  '‘progress,”  to  recede  and  take  another  path,  even 
as  the  Democritic  atoms,  as  avc  are  informed,  and  may  Avell 
believe,  tried  innumerable  combinations  before  they  arrived  at 
the  present  order  of  things.  But  I  am  Avandering  someAvhat 
from  my  purpose,  AA’hich  Avas  to  shoAV,  that,  the  development 
theories  of  our  time  are  sufficiently  like  those  of  the  period 
AvTliave  been  considering  to  have  sprung  from  the  same  side- 
rial  semination  or  planting,  tliat  is,  apocatastatically  the  same  ; 
and  that  they  have  had,  and  have,  an  analogous  influence  and 
effect.  My  limits,  and  promise  to  be  brief,  forbid  the  attempt 
to  characterize,  or  even  to  name,  all  the  recent  specimens  of 
Avorld-manufacture  ;  being  not  less  numerous,  or  less  admira¬ 
ble,  than  those  of  the  reaoAvneLl  Knickerbocker  Catalogue  of 
Cosmogonies.  They  Avould  be  found  equally  so,  probably,  in 
the  period  to  AAdiich  ouTs  has  succeeded,  Avere  Ave  to  look  for 
them  in  that  curious  old  Patent  Office  to  AA'hich  ours  also  are 
rapidly  hastening,  the  limbo  of  things  lost.  I  shall  only 
o-lance  at  one  or  tAVO  of  them,  Avhich — incredible  as  the  fact 
may  seem,  and  indeed,  Avere  it  not  for  the  obvious  truth  of  the 
observations  Avith  Avhich  this  chapter  commences,  must  appear, 
even  to  credulity  herself, — Avhich,  I  say,  liaA’e  been,  and  are, 
the  source  of  principles  of  conduct,  not  merely  of  speculative 
principles,  but  of  actual  faith  and  practice,  to  men  and  Avomen 
not  a  feAV.  The  Vestiges  of  Creation,  AAdiich  Avas  a  sort  of 
^  nine  d  vys  Avonder  in  certain  quarters,  and,  still  lingers  there 
in  its  effects,  Avas  doubtless  the  clever  attempt  of  some  literary 
Gulliver  to  measure  the  utmost  dimensions  of  the  gullibility 

let'll ,  /  V  if  y 


41 


of  that  sclf-complacent  personage,  the  reading  Public.  But 
what  must  have  been  his  astonishment,  and  amusement,  at 
finding  his  line  too  short ;  at  finding  himself,  instead  of  being 
laughed  at  as  a  scientific  Munchausen,  revered,  as  another 
Newton;  at  finding  his  dreams  accepted  and  acted  upon  as 
realities  !  But  though  this  theory,  such  theories,  might  w'ell 
be  reckoned  not  within  the  sphere  of  sober  criticism,  as  indeed, 
they  are  not,  in  relation  to  the  rational  understanding,  yet 
their  influence  for  evil  is  not  small  in  relation  to  the  moral 
and  spiritual  convictioiis  and  practical  conduct  and  duties  of 
men.  Their  effect  is  two-fold.  They  disturb  the  logical  un¬ 
derstanding,  and  the  feelings  of  many  whose  spiritual  relations 
to  the  truth  are  right,  but  who  are  pained,  disquieted,  and 
sometimes  thrown  into  distressing  doubt,  and  fear,  at  sugges¬ 
tions  which  are  mere  puzzles  to  the  ficulty  judging  according 
to  sense,  or  even  at  the  bare  possibility  of  mistake  in  regard 
to  their  faith  in  providence,  in  redemption,  in  immortality,  and 
in  God.  What  to  them  are  the  Eternal  Laws,  and  Immutable 
Nature,  and  Free  Development ;  Avhat  to  them  is  all  visible 
beauty,  though  Nature  were  ten  times  more  beautiful?  Avhat 
to  them  the  grandeur  of  Nature  manifesting  mighty  poAver  ? 
what  to  them  law,  order,  design,  exhibiting  perfect  intelli¬ 
gence  ?  AA'hat  though  taste  and  intellect  find  in  full  measure 
/their  satisfying  correlatives  ;  if,  mean  Avhile,  their  highest 
sph'itnal  intuitions  and  aspirations  find  not  their  correspon- 
I  ding  object?  if  an  eternally  productiA^e  Principle,  or  LaAV  of 
development,  evolving  certain  beneficent  results,  and  Avorking 
out  in  some  cases  a  sort  of  physical  retribution,  has  taken  the 
place  of  the  Eternal  Law-giver  and  Judge,  Avhom  they  love  in 
proportion  as  they  fear,  and  fear  in  proportion  as  they  loA^e 
'  Him.  What  to  them  this  Universal  Nature,  and  magnifi- 
cent  dwelling  for  the  earthly  man,  to  Avhom  God  is  but  an 
Instrument,  and  to  Avhom  therefore  Nature  is  sufficient,  if  the 
spiritual  life  find  not  Him  Avho  is  its  End. 

To  those,  on  the  contrary,  a  much  more  numerous  class,  to 

whom  the  presence  of  God  is  disquieting  and  uiiAvelcome,  to 

6 


\  V 


42 


whom  the  consciousness  of  moral  responsibility,  and  the  belief 
of  future  retribution,  are  a  weary  restraint  upon  their  free 
development,  who  Avill  gladly  acknowledge  their  accountability 
to  the  Laws  of  Nature,  so  they  may  escape  the  scrutiny  of  an 
omniscient  and  just  Sovereign,— as  undutiful  children  rejoice 
^  to  be  left  to  the  care  of  servants,— to  these,  such  theories  as 
exclude  from  the  Universe  a  personal  Deity,  or,  what  is  equal- 
^  ly  satisfactory,  admit  only  a  Soul  of  the  world,  or  some  Epi- 
I  curean  Divinity,  remote,  and  indifferent  to  human  conduct,  or 
who  leniently  expunges  sin,  wicked,  and  such-like  ungentle- 
manly  terms  from  his  vocabulary,  and  good-naturedly  finds 
men  only  frail,  erring,  or  unfortunate  such  theoi  les,  to  such 
men,  are  not  only  welcome,  but,  however  they  may  outrage, 
both  reason  and  understanding,  and  the  deepest  consciousness 
of  mankind,  they  are,  to  a  great  extent,  practically  believed 
in,  or  at  least  serve  as  a  pretext,  and  seeming  source  of  princi¬ 
ples,  for  the  course  of  conduct  already  chosen,  and  so  remove, 
or  diminish,  that  restless  disquiet  of  a  wholly  unappeased 
conscience,  whose  tendency  was  to  drive  them  to\^ards  the 
truth. 

But,  of  all  the  recent  theories  of  development  and  progress, 
that  which  seems  to  have  most  influence  at  present,  especially 
in  relation  to  the  peculiar  apocatastatic  movement  which  it  is 
the  main  purpose  of  this  tract  to  consider,  is  entitled  ‘‘  The 
Principles  of  Nature.”  It  may,  indeed,  by  the  fairest  analo¬ 
gy,  be  reckoned  the  Epicurean  modification  of  the  Vestiges  of 
Creation.  In  its  coarse  materialism,  and  in  its  moral  aspect 
and  bearings,  with  its  incessant  small-talk  of  virtue  and  be¬ 
nevolence,  while  it  saps  the  whole  foundation  of  human  virtue, 
it  is  strictly,  and  even  plagiaristically,  Epicurean.  It  has 
simply  superadded  to  the  Epicurean  theory  what  it  calls  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  but  Avhich  would  more  properly  be 
called  the  eternal  mortality  of  the  soul,  for  it  is  only  its  mor¬ 
tal  life  prolonged.  By  making  man,  body  and  soul,— for 
spirit  by  the  theory  he  has  none, — the  material  product  of 
material  forces  and  manipulations,  a  kind  of  chemico-me- 


48 


chanical  result, — material  Laws  !  !  think  of  that  je  medita¬ 
ting  atoms,— and  subjecting  him  wholly,  and  only,  to  the  laws 
of  Nature,  it  divests  him  of  all  distinctive  humanity,  and 
makes  him  simply, — snatching  the  sceptre  from  the  Lion’s 
grasp, — the  “King  of  Beasts.”  By  denying  to  man  all  moral 
character  and  responsibility,  all  spiritual  relations  of  course 
cease  to  exist ;  conscience  is  only  the  product  of  priestcraft, 
God  is  only  the  soul  of  the  world,  and  man  holds  the  same 
relation  to  him, — or  to  it  rather,- — as  a  tree,  or  mineral,  ex¬ 
cept  that  the  evolution  in  him  of  the  quality  of  locomotion, 
and  the  distillation  of  a  very  refined  and  subtile  matter  called 
prudence,  or  forethought,  render  him,  in  a  somewhat  different 
way  from  that  of  the  tree,  physically  accountable  for  the  phys¬ 
ical  relations  in  which  he  voluntarily  places  himself.  Re¬ 
ligion  there  can  be  none ;  and  the  “progress”  of  the  human 
animal,  as  indicated  by  the  theory,  is  such,  that  the  wolves 
among  them  would,  in  due  time,  in  this  world  or  the  next,  be¬ 
come  good  household  dogs,  tigers  ivoiild  be  transformed  to 
domestic  cats,  the  large  fishes  would  cease  to  eat  the  small 
ones,  the  hawks  to  devour  the  chickens,  the  crows  to  pull  what 
they  did  not  plant,  and  ultimately  all  would  arrive  at  a  most 
comfortable  zoological  paradise.  This,  it  must  be  acknowl¬ 
edged,  is  a  step  beyond  Epicurus,  by  the  addition  of  plenty 
of  time  for  the  proposed  progress ;  but,  unluckily  for  the 
theory,  the  progress  of  most  persons  is  in  the  opposite  direc¬ 
tion,  from  better  to  worse,  but  this  is  mostly  owing  to  religion, 
circumstances  will,  doubtless,  be  more  favorable  in  the  next 
sphere,  where  there  is  probably  no  religion,  as  there  will  be 
none  here  when  this  theory  is  universally  adopted.  His  ad¬ 
mirers  may  then  appropriate  to  the  author  of  it  the  triumph¬ 
ant  language  of  the  great  commentator  upon  Epicurus  in  re¬ 
gard  to  him ; 

— Omne  immensum  peragravit  mente  animoque, 

Unde  refert  nobis  victor,  quid  possit  oriri, 

Quid  nequeat ;  finita  potestas  denique  quoique 
Qua  nam  sit  ratione,  atque  alto  terminus  haerens. 


44 


Q,ud  re  Religio,  pedibus  subjecta,  vicissim 
Obteritur,  nos  exccquat  victoria  coelo. 

Lucretius  De  Kerum  Natura,  Lib.  i.  75-80. 

With  clairvoyant  vision  he  surveyed  immensity,  returning 
thence  triumphant,  laden  for  us  with  rich  spoils,  to  wit ;  the 
power  to  know  what  events  are  possible,  and  what  are  impos¬ 
sible  ;  the  laAV  of  each  finite  evolution  ;  and  what  yet  remains 
latent  and  undeveloped  ;  ivlterehy  Religion,  trampled  in  the 
dust,  is,  in  its  turn,  v&nquished  ;  the  victory  places  us  on 
equal  terms  with  heavenP  This  language  is  quite  as  appli¬ 
cable  to  the  author  of  the  Principles  of  Nature,  and  of  the 
Great  Harmonia,  as  to  Epicurus  himself ;  at  least  in  the  pe¬ 
culiar  mental  regions  where  his  influence  is  felt,  as  it  is  just 
j  now  pretty  extensively.  The  essential  quality  of  these  theo- 
I  ries,  the  same  in  both,  which  renders  them  so  inviting  to  nine 
tenths  of  those  who  would  fain  believe  them,  and  do  practically 
believe  in  them,  is  the  delightful  anodyne  to  the  conscience 
which  they  administer,  the  deliverance  from  the  heavy  incubus 
of  religion,  and  from  the  bondage  of  the  fear  of  death,  wdiich 
j  they  bestow,  and  the  liberty  which  they  confer,  of  free,  spon¬ 
taneous,  development,  without  the  chilling  drawback  of  a  fu- 

iture  account  to  give.  For  if  there  be  no  God,  or  if  the 
“Divine  Nature”  sit  apart  in  careless  self-enjoyment, 

“  Ipsa  suis  pollens  opibus,  nihil  indiga  nostri, 

N ec  bene  promeritis  capitur,  nec  tangitur  ira, 

Lucretius  De  Rerum  Natura,  Lib.  i.  61-2. 

itself  sufficient  to  itself,  desiring  nothing  of  us,  and  neither 
regards  our  virtues,  nor  is  displeased  at  our  vices  what  a 
delightful  relief  to  many  men,  if  not  to  most  men,  to  believe 
that  they  are  thus  free  to  make  the  most  of  nature,  every  man 
according  to  his  taste,  responsible  only  to  nature  ;  and  that 
they  may  thus  have  the  full  enjoyment  of  whatever  their  tal¬ 
ents  and  tastes  may  enable  and  prompt  them  to  compass  and 
acquire,  unmitigated,  and  unalloyed,  by  the  uninvited  presence 
of  any  horrid  Nemesis,  or  by  the  intrusive  thought  of  a 
judgment  to  come.  Not  that  those  who  are  disposed  to  adopt 


4o 


atheistic,  or  rather,  ratlmmotheistic  theories, are  always  persons 
of  more  than  ordinarily  depraved  or  vicious  character  ;  on  the 
contrary  they  are  often  men  of  amiable  and  benevolent  dis¬ 
position,  quite  exemplary,  it  may  be,  in  regard  to  the  second 
commandment, — though  assuredly  very  little  developed  in  the 
consciousness  of  their  spiritual  relations,— who  in  discarding 
or  enervating  the  idea  of  retribution,  arc  thinking  rather  of  its 
relation  to  others,  than  to  themselves  ;  but  even  to  such,  their 
theory,  in  proportion  as  they  really  believe  in  it,  is  like  an 
emergence  from  gloom  and  shadow  to  a  warmer  and  more 
^cheering  light ;  for  to  those  who  know  not,  or  love  not,  above 
i  all  things,  the  religion  which  exhibits  the  character  of  God 
as  elevated  above  all  human  thought,  and  unyielding  as  fate 
1  itself,  in  its  moral  attributes, — to  such,  this  religion  is,  and 
1^  has  ever  been,  that  gravis  Religio, 

Quae  caput  a  coeli  regionibus  obtendebat, 

Horribili  super  adspectu  mortalibus  instans. 

Lucretius  de  Rerum  Natura,  Lib.  i.  65-6. 

Her  head  who  high  towards  heaven  uplifting  proud. 

With  dreadful  aspect  frowns  on  mortal  men. 

These  theories  of  mere  nature-evolution,  and,  of  course, — 
except  in  a  physical  sense — of  irresponsible  development  for 
man,  and  of  ever  new  unfolding,  and  upliftings  of  the  veil  of 
Nature,  to  be  expected— this  expectation  more  sparingly  ex¬ 
pressed  in  the  ancient  theory,  though  equally  implied  there  as 
in  the  modern,  for  if  nature  has  evolved  thus  much  after  infi¬ 
nite  experiments,  what  reason  to  suppose  that  she  intends  no 
more  experiments  ?  indeed  Lucretius  expressly  says, 

Sic  igitur  mundi  naturam  totius  mtas 
Mutat,  et  ex  alio  terrain  status  excepit  alter  ; 

Quod  potuit  nequeat ;  possit,  quod  non  tulit  ante. 

(Lib.  V.  832-4)  which  Good  translates  more  correctly 
than  common  ; 

“  So  time  transmutes  the  total  world’s  vast  frame, 

From  state  to  state  urged  on,  now  void  of  powers 
Erst  known,  and  boasting  those  unknown  before.” 

— -these  theories  of  evolution  and  expectation,  and  all  essen- 


40 


tially  godless,  tliough  they  may  not  have  given  birth,  at  least 
not  wholly,  to  the  opinions  and  practices  of  their  respective 
periods,  which  are  about  to  be  compared  ;  certainly  have  pro¬ 
moted  them,  both  by  removing  all  moral  restraint  in  regard  to 
practices,  many  of  which  in  all  times  have  been  commonly 
held  to  be  impious  ;  and  by  awakening,  or  stimulating,  espe¬ 
cially  in  the  modern  instance,  a  vague,  restless  and  at  the 
same  time,  profane  curiosity.  Such  views  of  nature,  and  of 
^  man’s  relation  to  God,  in  concert  with  the,  anciently,  wide- 
i  spread,  and  in  the  present  period,  widely  spreading,  notions  in 
regard  to  man’s  relations  to  disembodied  spirits,  certainly 
were,  and  are,  a  fitting  preparation,  in  the  minds  of  those  who 
admit  them,  for  the  spirit-fanaticism,  the  epidemic  necroman- 
cy,  and  other  methods  of  divination,  wdiich  are  characteristic 
alike,  both  of  the  ancient,  and  the  present  periods. 


CHAPTER  V. 


“  He  holds  him  with  his  glittering  eye — 

The  wedding-guest  stood  still, 

And  listens  like  a  tliree  years’  child, 

The  Mariner  hath  his  will.” 

The  Ancient  Mariner. 


The  ancients  were,  undoubtedly,  well  acquainted  with  the 
phenomena  which  are  the  result  of  what  is  now  called  mes¬ 
merism,  biology,  clairvoyance  (fcc.  ;  and  which  were  then  the 
effect  of  the  same  causes  known  by  the  names  of  fascination, 
enchantment,  divination,  magic,  &.C.  The  power  thus  ac¬ 
quired  by  one  person  over  another  was  probably  made  use  of 
for  unlawful  purposes,  since  the  practice  of  these  impious  arts, 
as  they  were  then  accounted,  was  forbidden  on  pain  of  death. 
That  the  ancients  knew  how  to  produce  mesmeric  effects  by 
the  eye  alone  is  often  implied,  and  not  very  unfrcquently 
expressed,  by  contemporary  authors.  This  was  called  fasci¬ 
nation,  (fascinatio,  /Saitxavia,  as  if  from  uasa'Ci  xaivsiv,  to  kill  with 
the  eyes)  though  this  word  was  not  appropriated  exclusively 
to  effects  produced  by  the  eye.  Certain  kinds  of  praise  which 
were  intended  to  injure,  and  were  supposed  to  prove  pernicious 
to,  their  object,  were  called  also  fascination.  Not  in  the  sense 


48 


in  which  we  sometimes  speak  of  one  being  fascinated  and 
spoiled,  by  flattery  or  excessive  praise ;  but  the  notion  was 
precisely  the  same  as  still  exists  in  Eastern  countries  where 
mothers,  in  evident  alarm,  snatch  their  children  from  the 
presence  of  strangers  who  express  admiration  of  them.  It 
seems  difficult  to  conjecture  the  origin  of  such  an  opinion, 
the  ground  of  such  fears,  unless  we  suppose  that  the  praise 
was  considered  as  a  kind  of  lure,  while  the  child  was  being 
brought  under  the  power  of  the  “evil  eye.”  Something  more 
than  this,  however,  is  implied  in  the  following  quotation,  since 
we  can  hardly  suppose  inanimate  objects  to  l)e  injured  by  any 
neuropathic  effects.  “Isigonus  and  Nymphodorus  assert  that 
there  are  certain  families  in  Africa  who  have  the  power  of 
fascination  by  praise  (laudatione) — that  whatever  is  praised 
by  them  perishes, — trees  children  die.”  (Plinii  Na- 

tur.  Ilistor.  Lib.  vii.  2.)  From  the  time  of  the  elder  Pliny  to 
the  present  is  a  pretty  long  period  for  a  wholly  groundless 
notion  to  have  sustained  itself.  “  Isigonus  adds  that  there 
are  persons  of  the  same  kind  among  the  Treballians  and  Il¬ 
lyrians,  who  fascinate  by  the  eye  also,  and  that  they  even 
cause  the  death  of  those  upon  whom  they  look  long  and  in¬ 
tently,  especially  if  with  an  expression  of  anger  ;  and  that 
the  young  more  readily  feel  their  pernicious  influence.”  (Idem 
Ibidem.)  Appollonides  also  relates  that  there  are  women  of 
this  sort  in  Scythia.  Phylarchus  says  there  are  many  poss¬ 
essed  of  a  similar  power  in  Pontus.”  (Idem  Ibidem.)  These 
quotations  show  expressly  that  the  mesmeric  power  of  the 
eye  was  anciently  well  known  and  exercised ;  the  following 
imyly  the  same  thing,  in  such-wise  as  to  furnish  equally 
strong  proof  of  its  existence.  “  Why  do  we  as  a  defence 
against  fascination  use  a  peculiar  form  of  adoration  ;  invoking 
the  Grecian  Nemesis?  whose  statue  is,  on  that  account^ 
placed  in  the  Capitol  at  Rome.”  (Idem,  Lib.  xxviii.  5.)  “The 
skin  of  the  forehead  of  the  hyena  is  reckoned  a  defence 
against  fascination.”  (Idem  Lib.  xxviii.  27)  “  I  know  not 

whose  eye  has  fascinated  my  tender  lambs.”  (Virg.  Ec.  iii.  103) 


49 


The  Romans  even  had  a  god,  Fascinns  by  name,  -who  was 
not,  liowever,  as  usual,  the  patron  of  the  rogues  Avhose  name 
he  bore  ;  but — at  least  so  I  infer  from  his  being  called  “cus- 
tos  infantum,”  the  protector  of  children, — the  defender  of 
others  against  their  power.  (Plinii  Nat.  Hist.  28.  7) 

I  have  not  met  with  any  examples  of  the  mesmeric  state 
being  induced  by  passes  after  the  present  fashion,  except  one 
or  two  of  doubtful  interpretation,  which  therefore  I  shall  not 
brin^  forward.  The  common  method  of  mesmerising  among 
the  ancients  seems  to  have  been  by  means  of  music,  and  es¬ 
pecially  singing,  hence  called  incantation  and  enchantment. 
I  will  adduce  some  specimens  of  it  from  the  defence  of  Apu- 
leius  before  a  Roman  judge  on  being  accused  of  magic.  The 
chief  point  of  the  accusation  Avas,  that,  he  Avas  in  the  habit  of 
Avhat  Ave  should  call  mesmerising,  or  biologizing,  a  certain  boy, 
and  the  evidence  relied  upon  Avas,  that,  the  boy  Avas  accus¬ 
tomed  to  swoon  OY  fall  donni  in  his  presence.  After  disposing 
of  some  minor  points  of  the  charge,  Avhich  Avere  plainly  friA'o- 
lous  or  incredible,  he  proceeds  as  folloAvs  :  “  They,  therefore, 
(the  accusers)  fabricated  a  story  consonant  Avith  common  opin  ¬ 
ion  and  report,  viz  :  that  a  certain  boy,  having  been  taken  to  a 
secret  apartment,  before  a  small  altar  and  lamp, — no  one  being 
permitted  to  be  present  except  a  fcAv  ayIio  Avere  in  the  plot,— - 
AA'as  subjected  to  a  magical  incantation,  (carmine  cantatum) 
and  that  Avhen  he  felt  the  influence  of  the  charm,  (ubi  incan- 
tatus  sit)  he  SAvoonc  1  aAvay  ;  (corruissc,  Avent  into  a  magnetic 
sleep,)  that,  afterAvards,  he  Avas  aroused  from  a  state  of  un¬ 
consciousness.  This  is  as  far  as  they  dared  to  go  Avith  the  lie. 
But  in  order  to  make  a  Avhole  story  of  it,  they  ought  to  have 
added  that  this  same  boy  became  possessed  of  a  divining  poAv- 
er,  so  as  to  foretell  future  events  ;  for  the  object  of  such  in¬ 
cantations  is  presage  and  divination.  And  this  marvel  in  re¬ 
lation  to  1)oys  is  confirmed,  not  merely  by  vulgar  opinion,  but 
by  the  authority  of  learned  men.  For  I  remember  to  have 
read  in  Varro  the  philosopher,  a  man  most  accurately  learned 

and  erudite,  among  other  things  of  the  same  kind,  the  fol- 

7 


60 


\ 


loAving  ;  that,  some  persons  at  Tralles,  endeavoring  to  ascer¬ 
tain  the  event  cf  the  IMithridatic  var  by  means  of  magical 
inquisition  ;  a  I)oy,  looking  intently  upon  the  image  of  Mercu¬ 
ry  in  water,  chanted  a  hinidred  and  sixty  verses  expressive 
of  what  was  luturc.  Also  that  Fabius,  having  lost  five  hun¬ 
dred  denarii,  went  to  consult  Nigidius  ;  that,  boys,  subjected 
by  him  to  the  influence  of  the  magical  chant,  described  the 
place  where  the  purse  with  a  part  of  the  money  was  concealed, 
said  that  the  remainder  was  spent,  and  that  one  denarius  was 
in  the  possession  of  ISIarcus  Cato  the  philosopher,  which  Cato 
confessed  he  had  rccciv'cd  from  a  footman  as  a  contribution  to 
the  temple  of  Apollo.  These,  and  other  things,  I  have  read, 
indeed,  in  many  aiitliors,  concerning  magical  boys,  but  I  am 
undecided  in  opinion  whether  I  shall  admit  or  deny  the  possi¬ 
bility  of  them.  I  believe,  however,  with  Plato,  that  bctvvnen 
gods  and  men  in  nature  and  in  rank,  there  exist  certain  inter- 
niediatc  divine  beings,  and  that  divination  and  all  magical 
miracles  are  under  their  control.  I  believe,  moreover,  that 
the  human  mind,  and  especially  that  of  the  child,  which  is 
pure,  can,  by  the  soothing  power  of  song  or  of  odors,  be  cast 
into  a  profound  sleep  and  become  oblivious  of  things  present, 
and  that,  forgetting  the  body,  it  can,  for  a  short  time,  be  re¬ 
stored  and  return  to  its  proper  nature,  that  is,  to  an  immortal 
and  divine  nature,  and  that  so,  veluti  quodam  sopore,  it  is  en¬ 
abled  to  presage  the  future.  But,  in  order  that  these  things 
may  be  so,  it  is  requisite,  as  I  understand,  that  a  boy  bo  selec¬ 
ted  of  fair  and  unblemished  form,  of  ingenuous  and  active  mind 
anl  ready  speech,  so  that,  either  the  divine  agent  may  lodge 
within  as  in  a  fit  temple,  if  indeed  ice  may  worthily  avppose 
such  an  agent  to  he  present  in  the  body  oj  the  hoy  ,■  or  else, 
the  mind  itself,  being  aroused,  is  suddenly  restored  to  its  in¬ 
herent  power  of  presage  ;  which  power  is  readily  resumed, 
being  immediately  developed,  when  the  mind  is  no  longer 
weakened  and  obtunded  by  the  oblivious  influences  of  the 
body.  But  not  from  every  wood,  as  Pythagoras  says,  should 
Mercury  be  carved.”  (  Apuleius,  do  Magia,  Oratio.)  1  d-'^sire 


i 


51 


to  comrneiul  the  contents  of  this  curious  extract  to  the  es¬ 
pecial  consideration  of  the  connoisseurs  and  participants,  both 
embodied,  and  disembodied,  of  the  present  apocatastatic 
iteration  of  the  like.  What  say  you.  ye  boggling,  clumsy, 
Christian  ghosts,  spelling  out  your  inanities  letter  liy  letter, 
rap  by  rap,  or  tip  by  tip ;  to  the  hundred  and  sixty  verses, 
and  good  hexameters  too,  I  dare  say,  and  spoken,  ore  rotundo, 
pregnant  with  the  fate  of  the  mighty  king  of  Pontus.  How  is 
it  that  you  are,  with  now  and  then  an  exception,  so  inferior  to 
your  apocatastatic  copy  ?  Is  Mercury  deail  with  Pan,  and 
all  the  old  experienced  oracle-uttercrs  gine  extinct?  or  have 
they  gone  to  upper  spheres,  and  given  place  to  mere  begin¬ 
ners  ?  Consider  the  advice  of  Pythagoras,  wliether  it  might 
not  be  of  service  to  you,  for  surely  youi'  Messengers  are  often 
made  of  very  soft  materials.  And  you,  gentlemen  Spiritists, 
especially  you  who  develop  and  consecrate  mediums,  ■would  it 
not  be  well  for  the  new  dispensation  if  you  should  follow  a 
little  more  the  ancient  practice,  and  select  handsome  talented 
boys,  whose  souls  dwell  loosely  in  their  clay,  and  can  at  any 
moment  steal  out  and  take  a  peep  through  time  and  space, 
and  so  become  truly  clairvoyant  ?  or,  if  you  prefer  the  other 
theory,  be  found  a  congruous  receptacle,  and  well  adapted  in¬ 
strument,  for  some  supernal  presence  ? — ^these,  rather  than 
stale  maidens.  Pythonesses,  or  unmaidens  so  enveloped  in 
their  mortal  coil  that  they  can  find  no  egress,  “immersed  in 
matter,”  such  matter  too  that  none  Init  an  unclean  spirit  would 
choose  to  enter  it.  Consider  too,  gentlemen,  the  modest  non- 
committalism  of  this  ancient  demibcliever  in,  and  truly  phi- 
bs  )phic  critic  of,  such  phenomena.  That  there  are  spirits, 
and  that  there  is  a  spirit  in  these  cases,  he  believes  with 
Plato,  but  whether  the  spirit  goes  out  or  comes  in,  cn  that 
point,  he  modestly  declines  to  be  dogmatic.  AVould  not  an 
unbiassed  observer  of  our  “modern  instances” — with  whatever 
humility  and  doubt  he  might  dissent  from  your  belief — lean 
strongly  to  the  opinion  that,  at  least  in  our  own  time,  the 
spirit  ffoes  out  7 


52 


It  is  obvious,  from  the  above  quotation,  that  the  methods  of 
dj_vination  there  referred  to,  Avere  suifcicntly  common  cim.on" 
the  Romans,  thougli  from  the  iact  of  their  being  accounted 
ijnpiouSj  and  declared  to  be  unluAvl’ul,  they  Avere  of  course  less 
public  than  at  present,  and  the  authors  Avho  seem  to  have 
treated  most  fully  of  them  have  not  come  doAvn  to  us.  We 
can,  hoAvcver,  I  think,  make  out  most  of  the  details  of  the 
process  by  Avhich  the  magnetic  sleep  Avas  induced,  and  the  de¬ 
sired  responses  to  questions,  or  other  communications,  obtain¬ 
ed  The  author  of  the  foregoing  e.xtract  goes  on  to  exculpate 
himself  from  the  charge  of  magic,  by  shoAving  that  the  boy, 
Avho  Avas  said  to  fall  doAvn  in  his  presence,  Avas  sulgcct  to  epi¬ 
leptic  fits,  that  he  Avas  a  coarse,  stupid,  vulgar,  sicklv  child, 
not  at  all  up  to  the  Pythagorean  definition  of  a  Mercury  ; 
then  addressing  his  accusers  he  says  : — “A  fine  lad  truly  you 
have  chosen  for  one  to  bring  before  the  altar,  on  Avhose  head 
to  place  ones  hands  (caput  contingat)  Avhom  to  robe  in  the 
pure  pallium,  from  Avhom  to  expect  responses  !”  (responsum 
speret  !)  It  is,  I  think,  implied  in  this  last  quotation,  that 
the  hands  Avere  also  used  in  magnetising,  as  Aveil  as  the  voiccj 
and  probably  the  eyes  at  the  same  time.  The  folloAving,  then, 
cannot  be  far  from  incorrect  picture  of  an  ancient  sitting  or 
circle,  at  least,  Avhere  the  method  Avas  by  Avhat  they  called 
incantation  or  enchantment.  A  dark  and  secret  apartment, 
the  smoking  altar,  the  small  pale  lamp,  the  fuming  incense 
diffusing  Sabaean  odors,  the  little  cluster  of  earnest  faces 
turned  toAvards  the  handsome  young  Medium,  avIio  sits  before 
the  altar  robed  in  the  pure,  Avhite  linen,  pallium,  sacred  to  re¬ 
ligious  rites,— in  front  of  him  the  Magus,  his  hand  upon  the 
young  man’s  head,  his  serpent  eyes  fixed  on  his  face,  his  voice 
uttei  in^  the  Ioaa  aa  ailin^  magic  chant, — the  boy  sleeps, — he 
responds  to  the  Sorcerer — he  speaks  hexameters, — he  (or  some 
Spirit  in  him)  utters  oracles  !  Such  Avas  one  of  the  ancient 
methods  of  getting  ansAvers  to  curious  questions. 

But  there  Avere,  besides  those  described  l^y  Apuleius,  other 
methods  of  inducing  the  clairvoyant  state,  of  putting  the  soul 


53 


of  the  Medium  eii  rapjwrt  with  the  distant  or  the  future. 
The  following  is  a  specimen.  “  He  (Isodorus)  met  with  a 
consecrated  woman  [ywam  hpa,  priestess  ?)  who  possessed  a 
supernatural  endoAvment  after  a  wonderful  manner.  For, 
having  poured  pure  water  into  a  glass  vessel,  she  beheld  in 
the  water  the  phantasms  (9«(rjjiaru)  of  future  events,  and  by 
means  of  the  vision  foretold  with  certainty  what  was  about  to 
take  place.  I  have  also  myself,  witnessed  the  same  thing. 
{Ex  Isodori  Philosophi  A^ita,  Damascio  Auctorc,  apud  Pho- 
tium.) 

There  is  nothing  said  here  of  incantation,  as  there  is  not  in 
the  case  of  the  boy  who  responded  in  hexameters  while  look- 
ins:  at  an  imao’e  in  water  instead  of  into  water  itself:  but  that 
it  was  sometimes  used  in  connexion  with  this  fixing  of  the 
eyes,  this  staring  process  of  abstraction,  is  sliown  by  the  next 
e|iutatlon.  It  shows  also  that  these — at  that  time — illicit 
practices  had  found  their  way  into  very  respectable  society. 
The  (questioner  here  is  a  Roman  Emperor,  very  desirous  to 
ascertain  whether  he  was  to  continue  to  sport  the  imperial 
purple  which  he  had  honestly  bought  with  Ms  money,  or 
whether  he  was  about  to  exchange  it  for  a  ‘’stone  coat.”  “Ju¬ 
lian  was  guilty  ol  the  folly  of  consulting  the  Magicians  &-c. — 
They  immolated  certain  victims  not  consonant  with  the  cus¬ 
toms  of  Roman  sacrifice,  and  chanted  profiine  incantations  ; 
also  those  things  which  are  said  to  be  done  at  the  mirror,  in 
which  boys,  their  eyes  being  blindfolded,  arc  said  to  see  wdth 
the  top  of  the  head  by  means  of  incantations  uttered  over  it, 
(incantato  vertice)  Julian  had  recourse  to  ;  whereupon  the  boy 
is  said  to  have  beheld  the  approach  of  Severus,  and  the  death 
of  Julian.”  (Spartian.  Vita.  Jul.  Did.) 

There  is  some  obscurity  in  regard  to  the  exact  process  here, 
but  I  think  the  supposition  may  have  been  that  the  boy  was 
to  direct  his  eyes,  at  least  mentally,  as  if  to  gaze  into  the 
mirror  through  the  top  of  his  head,  for  he  is  said  to  look  into, 
or  look  back  (respicere)  into,  the  mirror  at  the  top  of  his  head. 

Let  us,  next,  look  at  a  few  specimens  of  self-magnetization, 


54 


or  spontaneous  clairvoyance.  'J'he  most  celebrated,  and  in¬ 
deed,  Avorld-rcnowned,  manifestations  of  tins  kind  made  their 
appearance  in  certain  prescient  females,  called  Sibyls,  at  va¬ 
rious  times,  and  in  various  places,  of  the  ancient  heathen 
world.  They  are  said  to  have  written  their  oracles 
upon  the  leaves  of  trees  as  the  spirit  of  divination  came  upon 
them.  If  so,  one  of  them  at  least,  must  have  thought  hers 
worth  copying,  for  the  historian  relates  that  she  offered  them 
for  sale  to  the  Homans  in  nine  hooks,  (SiSXoj?  ?vvsa)  and  when 
they  thought  the  price  too  high  she  burned  three  and  still  de¬ 
manded  the  same  price  for  the  six  ;  being  still  refused  she 
burned  three  more  and  demanded  still  the  same  price  for  the 
remaining  three, — she  was  evidently  good  at  a  bargain,  if  not 
at  vaticination, — they  were  now  purchased,  and  found,  or 
supposed,  to  have  such  important  relations  to  the  future  des¬ 
tinies  of  Home,  that  they  were  preserved,  with  'more  care 
than  any  other  sacred  deposit,  says  the  historian.  Ten  dis¬ 
tinguished  citizens  were  set  apart,  exempt  from  military  and 
ci\'il  duties,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  care  of  them,  without 
whom  they  could  never  be  seen,  being  preserved  in  a  stone 
coffer,  under  ground,  (xarayrje;)  in  the  temple  of  the  Capitolian 
Jupiter.  They  were  always  consulted  in  important  delibera¬ 
tions  of  the  senate,  and  whenever  danger  from  Avithout  or 
from  Avithin  threatened  the  State.  (Dionyss.  Halicarnass.  L. 
iv.  G2)  These  genuine  Sibylline  "'vere  destroyed, — 

fatal  omen  !  Avhen  the  Capitol  Avas  burned  in  Sylla’s  time,  just 
at  the  commencement  of  that  “sterile  period”  ushered  in  by 
the  “mournful  sound  of  the  trumpet — a  period,  like  our  OAvn, 
and  all  other  sterile  periods,  doomed  to  subsist  on  make-be¬ 
lieves,  and  all  sorts  of  supposititions,  and  illegitimacies.  The 
degenerate,  and  degenerating  Homans,  therefore,  instead  of 
rousing  themselves  to  carve  their  OAvn  future  destiny,  sent 
ambassadors  to  various  parts  of  Europe  and  Asia,  to  ask 
leave  to  copy,  for  the  Homan  People,  Avhatever  Sibylline  frag¬ 
ments —  for  the  most  part,  not  true  Sibyllina,  but  old  AvHes 
fables,  and  other  witch-droppings - they  might  find  there. 


55 


These  it  was  that  the  Medium-led  statesmen,  of  the  remaini  ig 
days  of  the  Republic,  consulted,  quarreled  over,  forged,  inter¬ 
preted,  and  mis-interpreted,  each  to  his  own  purpose,  precisely 
as  our  old  women  do  the  Constitution  ;  and  precisely  as  mis¬ 
called  American  statesmen  will,  nay  do^  proli  pudor,  et  nefas 
apocatastaticum  !  !  ^'’consult  the  spirits^^^  in  the  American 
Capitol. 

However,  it  is  plain  from  the  record  and  the  conduct  of 
men,  that  there  were  in  those  days  clairvoyant  women  who 
could  see  with  the  top  of  the  head,  or  in  some  other  anomo- 
lous  way,  or  at  least, — which  is  sufficient  for  my  present  pur¬ 
pose, — that  people,  at  that  time,  supposed  they  had  sufficient 
reason  to  think  so. 

But  this  endowment  was  not  peculiar  to  women,  men  also 
not  unfrcquently  exhibited  the  same.  The  following  arc  from 
“The  Life”  of  that  ancient  Swedenborg,  or  Davis,  Apollonius 
Tyanensis.  He  Avas  on  a  visit  to  the  Sages  of  India  for  the 
purpose  of  perfecting  himself  in  philosophy  and  theurgy, 
not  yet,  it  seems,  “fully  developed,”  magnetically.  Having 
made  knoAvn  his  purpose,  the  Superior  of  the  philosophic  fra¬ 
ternity  said  to  him  :  “  It  is  the  custom  of  others  to  inquire  of 
those  Avho  visit  them,  who  they  are,  and  for  Avhat  purpose  they 
come  ;  but  Avith  us  the  first  evidence  of  Avisdom  is  that  avc  are 
not  ignorant  of  those  Avho  come  to  us.  So  saying  he  gave  ac¬ 
count  both  of  the  paternal  and  maternal  families  of  Apollo¬ 
nius, — of  all  he  did  at  Aegae, — hoAv  Damis  came  to  him, — of 
their  conversaRon  on  the  journey,  and  of  Avhat  they  heard 
from  others.  All  this  he  related  readily  and  fluently  as  if  he 
had  himself  been  a  companion  of  the  journey.  Apollonius 
being  astonished  and  inquiring  hoAV  he  obtained  such  knoAvl- 
edge  7  (such  poAver  of  knoAving)  you  also,  said  he,  possess  the 
same  endoAvment  but  not  yet  in  perfection.”  (Philostrat.  Vita 
Apollonii  Tyanensis  L.  iii.  C.  16.)  His  psychometric  faculty 
enabled  him  to  see  that  Apollonius  Avas  capable  of  “liecoming 
a  good  Medium.”  Accordingly,  Ave  find  him,  after  his  return 
from  India, — the  Brahmins  probably  mesmerised  him  a  fcAV 


66 


times— quite  well  “developed.'’  For  discoursing  one  day  at 
Ephesus  in  a  grove  near  the  city,  a  flock  of  birds  was  observed 
sitting  quietly  upon  a  tree— sliortly  there  arrived  another 
bird  emitting  a  peculiar  note,  Avhereupon  the  whole  flock  set 
up  a  cry  and  flew  away.  The  auditors  noticing  and  wonder¬ 
ing  at  tlic  conduct  of  the  birds  ;  Apollonius  interrupted  his 
discouise  and  said,  that,  “a  boy — near  a  gate  of  the  city, 
■which  he  named,  carrying  a  vessel  of  grain,  had  fallen  down 
and  spilled  it,  and  having  leit  much  of  it  on  the  ground  was 
gone  away  ; — that  tlie  bird,  liappcning  to  be  near,  and  ob¬ 
serving  this,  had  come  to  inform  his  companions  that  they 
might  partake  of  his  good  fortune.  Many  of  the  company 
thereupon  hastened  to  satisfy  themselves  of  the  truth  of  the 
statement, — Apollonius,  meantime,  going  on  Avith  his  dis¬ 
course.  Soon  they  returned  shouting,  and  filled  with  admi 
ration  (fcc.  (Idem  L.  iv.  3)  ilie  next  specimen  is  instructive^ 
especially  to  the  faculty  ;  but  as  1  have  promised  to  be  brief, 

I  must  abbreviate  it  somcAvliat.  Apollonius  being  at  Tarsus, 
a  young  man  was  brought  to  him,— for  he  was  a  hcaliim  me- 
dium  as  Avell  as  a  clairvoyant, — ivlio,  thirty  days  before,  had 
been  liittcn  by  a  mad  dog.  He  commanded  the  dog  to  be 
brought  to  him.  But,  as  the  accident  had  occurred  when  the 
boy  was  out  of  the  city,  none  of  those  about  him  had  seen  the 
dog,  and  he  himself  had  not  observed  him  so  as  to  bo  able  to 
describe  or  distinguish  him.  Thereupon  Apollonius,  retract¬ 
ing  himself,  AvithdraAving  himself  iiiAvards,  stoppino' 

the  outer  machinery  and  taking  on  the  interior  slate,)  “  0, 
Damis,  said  he,  the  dog  is  white,  shaggy,  large,  and  resem¬ 
bles  the  Amphilochian  breed.  He  stands  trembling  near  a 
certain  fountain,  {naming  the  fountain)  very  desirous,  and 
at  the  same  time  afraid,  to  drink.  Bring  him  hither  to  me, 
saying  to  him  only  that  it  is  I  Avho  summons  him.  Being  con¬ 
ducted  to  him,  accordingly,  by  Damis,  the  dog  thrcAv  himself 
at  the  feet  of  Apollonius,  Avhining,  (or  Aveeping,  xXaiwv)  Apol¬ 
lonius  patted  and  soothed  him,  and  bringing  him  to  the  boy  he 
commanded  him  to  lick  the  bite,  in  order  that  the  remedy 


might  be  the  same  thing  as  that  which  had  produced  the  dis¬ 
ease.”  (Idem  L.  vi.  43)  0,  Hahneman  !  Great  Itch-Compeller  ! 
Solomon  was  right !  and  your  honors  are  also  in  danger,  for 
yours,  it  is  plain  is,  after  all,  only  an  apocatastatic  homoeopa¬ 
thy  !  One  specimen  more, — out  of  a  great  i  number  recorded 
in  his  Life, — of  the  clairvoyant  powers  of  this  capital  old 
Medium  is  all  my  limits  will  permit.  He  was  again  at  Ephe¬ 
sus  discoursing  near  the  city,  when  hesitating,  and  then  ceas¬ 
ing  to  speak,  as  when  one  forgets  what  he  was  going  to  say 
next ;  he  looked  fiercely  upon  the  ground,  strode  forwards 
thaee  or  four  steps,  and,  “strike  the  tyrant !  strike  !”  he  ex¬ 
claimed.  And  when  all  Ephesus,  (most  of  the  citizens  being 
present)  was  astonished  at  his  conduct; — courage,  my  friends, 
said  he,  for  this  very  day  the  tyrant  is  slain,  this  day,  did  I 
say,  nay,  at  the  very  moment  that  I  stopped  speaking.  Soon 
as  there  was  time  for  the  news  to  arrive  it  was  found,  accord¬ 
ingly,  that  just  at  that  hour,  Domitian  was  assassinated  at 
Rome.  (Idem,  L.  viii.  C.  26.) 

I  must  not  omit  to  insert  here  another  example  of  clairvoy¬ 
ance  from  the  life  of  our  friend  lamblichus,  just  to  show  that 
he  also  was  an  Adept  in  the  occult  sciences,  or  an  Expert,  as 
the  lawyers  say,  for  we  shall  have  to  call  him  upon  the  stand 
as  a  witness  in  that  character  bye  and  bye.  “  lamblichus 
went  with  his  disciples  to  sacrifice,  in  one  of  the  suburbs  of 
the  city  ;  and  after  the  sacrifice  was  performed  they  returned 
to  town,  gently  walking  along,  and  discoursing  concerning  the 
gods,  as  a  subject  very  proper  for  the  occasion.  Then  lam¬ 
blichus,  who  was  perfectly  lost  in  thought  in  the  midst  of  the 
discourse,  whose  voice  was  fallen,  and  eyes  immovably  fixed 
on  the  earthy  turned  to  his  companions  and  exclaimed  :  “  Let 
us  take  another  road,  for  not  far  from  hence  is  a  funeral  pro¬ 
cession.”  lamblichus,  accordingly,  chose  a  purer  way,  and 
was  accompanied  by  a  few  of  his  disciples  ;  the  rest,  doubt¬ 
ing,  went  forward  and  met  the  procession,  &.c.”  (Eunapii  Vita 
lamblichi.)  It  would  be  easy  to  add  the  record  of  many  more 

similar  manifestations  from  the  fabulous  lives  of  still  more 

8 


58 


ancient  sages  as  Pythagoras,  Orpheus,  &c.,  but  as  these  are 
suspicious,  for  more  reasons  than  one,  and  as  I  propose  to 
deal  only  with  veritable  and  well  attested  facts,  I  shall  pass 
them  by. 

Bnt  these  are,  as  it  were,  mere  amateur  performances,  the 
private  and  illicit  doings  of  unconsecrated  and  profane  peo¬ 
ple,  intrusively  attempting  the  functions  Avhich  properly  ap¬ 
pertained  to  others.  The  public  religion  sought  to  keep  such 
things  under  its  own  control.  All  legal  Mediums  were  conse¬ 
crated  and  religiously  set  apart  to  their  office.  xVmong  these, 
by  far  the  most  celebrated,  and  most  frequently  consulted, 
was  the  priestess  of  Apollo  at  Delphi,  or  as  she  was  often 
called,  the  Pythia,  and  sometimes  Pythoness.  The  theory 
was  that  Apollo  spoke  through  her  voice.  But  it  is  obvious 
that,  in  so  far  as  she  possessed  any  powers  of  privesion  or 
clairvoyance,  they  originated  in  the  same  way  as  in  the  case  of 
the  enchanted  boys  ;  that  is,  the  induction  of  the  magnetic,  or 
trance  state,  was  an  indispensable  condition  of  their  develop¬ 
ment  ;  and  this  state  was  induced  by  essentially  the  same 
means.  When  she  was  about  to  give  oracular  responses  she 
entered  a  cave  in  the  mountain  over  which  the  Delphic  Tem¬ 
ple  Avas  built, — she  Avas  placed  in  the  basket  or  basket-shaped 
seat  of  the  sacred  tripod,  Avhich,  being  open  at  the  bottom, 
stood  over  a  rent  or  crevice  in  the  rock  from  Avhich  issued  a 
mephitic  vapor, — she  drank  of  the  inspiring  Avater  of  the 
Castalian  Spring — she  Avas  enclosed  AAdth  branches  of  laurel 
Avhose  leaves  she  cheAved — before  her  Avas  the  altar  of  the  God 

_ the  air  was  loaded  Avith  the  fumes  and  fragrance  of  burning 

incense — the  music  of  trumpets  and  other  instruments  resoun¬ 
ded  through  the  cavern, — around  her  stood  the  priests  and 
other  servants  of  Apollo,  and  those  to  Avhom  the  response  was 
to  be  given,— she  became  unconscious,  Avent  into  the  magnetic 
state,  (hence  the  phrase  sv  5X|j.w  xoifxarf^ai,  to  sleep  in  the  hollow 
of  the  tripod,  signified  to  prophesy,)— but  soon  the  god  him¬ 
self,  duly  invoked,  arrived,  and  took  possession  and  control  of 
the  organs  of  the  Pythia — she  was  now  inspired  with  a  “divine 


69 


fury  or  rage,”  she  became  agitated,  convulsed,  tore  her  hair, 
foamed  at  the  mouth,  until  at  length  the  excitement  found  vent 
in  the  utterance  of  pure  Greek  hexameters,  which  contained 
or  constituted  the  oracular  responses  to  the  questions  proposed, 
which  were  enclosed  in  sealed  envelopes  and  known  only  to 
the  questioner.  At  least,  in  the  more  ancient  periods,  the 
responses  were  always  in  hexameter  verses,  1)ut  afterwards  in 
prose  ;  Avhich  fact  caused  no  little  trouble  to  the  believers  in 
plenary  inspiration,  and  who  held  that  the  spirit  ^‘came  in” 
instead  of  going  out ; — for  why  should  the  god  of  music  and 
poetry  forget  how  to  make  verses  ?  However,  we  shall  see 
bye  and  bye  that  they  had  a  way  of  accounting  for  it.  Here 
is  evidence  of  clairvoyance,  at  least,  and  on  a  pretty  large 
scale,  if  we  consider  the  extent  of  Apollo’s  correspondence,  the 
number  of  letters  from  all  parts  of  the  world  which  were  an¬ 
swered  without  opening  them.  As  to  the  correctness  of  the 
answers,  and  their  coincidence  with  events,  though  it  must  be 
confessed  that  they  were  sometimes  a  little  equivocal,  Cicero  I  00. 
says  (De  Divinatione  Lib.  i.  xviii)  that  Chrysippus  collected 
innumerable  oracles  the  truth  of  every  one  of  which  was  con¬ 
firmed  by  most  abundant  testimony.  A  specimen  or  two  must 
suffice  ;  and  lest  some  infidel  sceptic  should  suspect  that  the 
seals  of  some  of  those  envelopes  were  in  the  habit  of  being 
tampered  with,  I  will  select  those  which  shall  put  all  his 
doubts  to  shame,  and  to  flight.  Listen  to  the  father  of  histo¬ 
ry.  “Croesus,  king  of  Lydia,  wishing  to  test  the  powers  of 
the  Pythia,  sent  messengers  to  Delphi  with  directions  to  in¬ 
quire,  on  a  certain  day,  what  the  king  of  the  Lydians  was 
doing.  *******  No  sooner  had  the  Lydians  entered  the 
temple  to  consult  the  god,  and  to  ask  the  question  comman¬ 
ded,  than  the  Pythia  uttered  the  following  in  hexameter 
verses  ; 

“  I  know  the  number  of  the  sands,  and  the  measure  of  the 
sea  ;  I  know  what  the  dumb  would  say,  I  hear  him  who  speaks 
not.  There  comes  to  me  the  odor  of  tortoise  and  lamb’s 
flesh  seething  together  in  a  brass  vessel ;  beneath  the  flesh 


60 


is  brass,  there  is  also  brass  above.”  This  oracle  being  re¬ 
corded,  the  messengers  returned  to  Sardis.  Croesus  read  and 
was  satisfied.  *  *  *  *  For  after  he  had  sent  the  messengers 
'X  to  consult  the  oracle,  on  the  appointed  day^  he  hit  upon  the 
following  to  be  done,  as  something  which  he  supposed  might 
be  difficult  to  detect  and  describe  : — cutting  up  a  tortoise  and 
a  lamb,  he  boiled  them  together  in  a  brazen  vessel  which  also 
had  a  cover  of  brass.”  (Herodotus,  Clio.)  The  Pythia  must 
have  been,  in  this  case,  extremely  clairvoyant,  or  else  have 
had  excessively  acute  olfactories,  have  been  clairolfixcient. 

When  the  Gauls  under  Brennus  were,  apparently,  about  to 
destroy  the  Temple  at  Delphi,  the  god  being  consulted,  the 
Pythia  answered  from  the  Oracle  :  “  /,  and  the  white  virgins 
will  see  to  that  matterP  Whereupon  the  Gauls,  being 
seized  with  a  panic  in  a  snow-storm  among  the  mountains, 
fled  or  perished  in  the  snow.  (Cicero  do  Divinatione  Lib.  i. 
37)  This  is  a  very  unexceptionable  example  of  the  combina¬ 
tion  o.f  prescience  with  clairvoyance,  for  which  the  Pythia  was 
famed,  beyond  all  her  compeers. 

The  following  is  a  specimen  of  equivoque,  or  double  enten¬ 
dre^  like  the  still  more  famous  response  to  Croesus  ;  who, 
when  inquiring  if  he  should  be  successful  against  the  Persians 
was  told,  that,  if  he  crossed  the  Halys,  he  should  destroy  a 
great  kingdom.  ‘‘  When  however,  on  consulting  Apollo  at 
Delphi,  he  was  advised  to  beware  of  the  seventy-third  year, 
supposing  he  was  to  live  until  that  period,  and  not  thinking 
of  the  age  of  Galba,  ho  was  filled  with  confidence  &.c.”  (Sue¬ 
tonius  Vita  Neronis  c.  40)  Croesus,  by  crossing  the  river, 
destroyed  his  own  kingdom  ;  and  Nero,  instead  of  living  to 
his  seventy  third  year,  was  destroyed  by  Galba  who  was 
seventy-three  years  of  age.  The  celebrated  response  to 
Pyrrhus,  “Aio  te,  Aeacida,  Romanos  vincere  posse”  was 
another  of  the  same  sort.  The  poor.  Pythia  has,  I  think,  been 
ridiculed  without  reason,  and  her  credit  very  unjustly  im¬ 
peached  on  account  of  these  and  such-like  utterances.  For, 
it  is  manifest,  that  the  double  meanii  g  in  such  cases  is  an 


61 


ess'ential  condition  of  the  truth  of  the  prediction,  otherwise 
the  prophecy  would  defeat  its  own  fulfilment  and  so  prove 
false.  Such  cases,  therefore,  instead  of  discrediting,  ought  to 
confirm  the  clairvoyant  character  of  the  prophetess, — it  was 
her  business  to  see  the  future,  not  to  change  it. 

The  Pythia,  however,  though  first  in  rank,  possessed  no 
peculiar  powers,  but  was  only  one  among  innumerable  others, 
in  the  service  of  the  ancient  religions,  who,  in  various  ways, 
evinced  the  possession  of  the  same.  “  The  religion  of  this 
temple  (that  of  the  Deus  Heliopolitanus  in  Syria)  excels  in 
divination.  The  absent  consult  this  God  by  sending  sealed 
letters ;  and  answers  are  given,  in  order,  to  their  contents. 
Thus  the  Emperor  Trajan,  being  about  to  enter  Parthia  from 
this  province,  and  being  desired  by  his  friends  to  inquire  in 
regard  to  the  event  of  the  undertaking,  excercised  Roman 
prudence  by  first  testing  the  poAvers  of  the  Oracle,  lest  he 
might  be  imposed  upon.  First,  therefore,  he  sent  sealed  let¬ 
ters  to  Avhich  he  desired  a  reply  in  Avriting.  The  God  com¬ 
manded  paper  to  be  brought,  sealed  blank,  and  sent ;  the 
priests  being  astonished  at  that  sort  of  reply,  because  they 
Avere  ignorant  of  the  character  of  the  (Trajan’s)  letters. 
Trajan  receded  the  answer  Avith  great  admiration  because  he 
also  had  sent  blank  tablets  to  the  God.  He  then  sent  other 
sealed  letters  inquiring  Avdiether  he  should  return  to  Rome 
after  finishing  the  Avar.  The  god  directed  a  vine  to  be  cut  in 
pieces,  Avrapt  in  linen,  and  carried  to  him,  signifying,  as  the 
event  proved,  that  his  bones  Avere  to  be  carried  back  to  Rome.” 
(Macrobius  Saturnal.  L.  i.  c.  23.) 

Such  specimens  of  dmnation  arc  found  scattered  through¬ 
out  ancient  history,  besides  “innumerable”  instances  of  it, 
which,  according  to  Cicero  and  Apuleius,  Avere  recorded  but 
haA'e  not  come  down  to  us  ;  but  these  examples  are  perhaps 
sufficient  (I  have  promised  to  be  brief )  to  prove  the  existence, 
and  illustrate  the  character,  of  the  ancient  clairvoyance,-  at 
least  as  manifested  by  oral  communications.  I  shall  have 


62 


occasion  to  bring  forward  other  forms  of  it  under  a  different 
head. 

The  following  quotation,  from  one  well  acquainted  with  the 
subject,  shows  pretty  conclusively,  the  identity  of  the  influ¬ 
ence  which  affected  these  vaticinating  people  with  the  present 
animal  magnetism,  or  Mesmerism,  or  spirit-influence.  “I  wish 
to  point  out  to  you  the  signs  by  which  those  who  are  rightly 
possessed  ])y  the  gods  may  be  known. —  *  *  *  tJjey  neither 
energize  according  to  sense,  nor  are  in  such  a  vigilant  state 
as  those  Avho  have  their  senses  excited  from  sleep  ;  nor  are 
they  moved  as  those  who  energize  according  to  impulse.  Nor 
again  are  they  conscious  of  the  state  they  are  in,  neither  as 
they  were  before,  nor  in  any  other  Avay  ;  nor,  in  short,  do  they 
exert  any  knowlege,  which  is  peculiarly  their  own.  The 
greatest  indication,  however,  of  the  truth  of  this  is  the  follow¬ 
ing  :  Many,  through  divine  inspiration,  are  not  burned  when 
fire  is  introduced  to  them,  the  inspiring  influence  preventing 
the  fire  from  touching  them.  Many  also,  though  burned,  do 
not  appreliend  that  they  are  so,  because  they  do  not  then  live 
an  animal  life.  And  some,  indeed,  though  transfixed  with 
spits  do  not  perceive  it ;  but  others  that  are  struck  on  the 
shoulders  with  axes,  and  others  that  have  their  arms  cut  Avith 
knives,  are  by  no  means  conscious  of  Avhat  is  done  to  them. 
From  these  things  it  is  demonstrated  that  those  who  ener¬ 
gize  enthusiastically  are  not  conscious  of  the  state  they  are 
in,  and  that  they  neither  live  a  human,  nor  an  animal,  life,  ac¬ 
cording  to  sense  or  impulse,  but  that  they  exchange  this  for  a 
certain  more  divine  life,  by  Avhich  they  pe  inspired  and  per¬ 
fectly  possessed.”  (lamblichus  de  Mysteriis.) 

I  had  intended  to  exhibit  manifestations  parallel  to  those 
contained  in  this  chapter,  from  the  writings  of  the  spiritists  of 
the  present  time  ;  but  the  j^arallelism  here,  in  all  essential 
particulars,  is  so  obvious  to  all  who  have  even  but  the  most 
superficial  acquaintance  Avith  the  subject,  that  I  shall  save  my¬ 
self  the  trouble  of  transcribing,  and  the  reader  that  of  peru¬ 
sing,  what  must  be  already  abundantly  familiar  to  him.  The 


63 


fascination  by  the  eye  is  what  any  one  may  witness,  and  most 
have  often  witnessed,  at  biological  lectures  and  other  such-like 
exhibitions,  or  at  the  “  Circles  — to  be  fatally  fascinated  by 
praise  is  a  thing  not  at  all  rare  in  the  present  times,  though 
I  must  confess,  that  I  am  not  personally  cognizant  of  any  in¬ 
stance  in  which  trees  have  been  made  to  wither  and  die  from 
that  cause  alone, — there  is  a  point  in  the  ancient  magic  which 
is  not  yet,  I  think,  re-developed — the  enchanted  boys  are  only 
specimens  of  magnetisation  by  a  different  method,  although 
indeed,  the  chant  is  still  sometimes  used  for  that  purpose  ; — 
the  Pythia  was  merely  a  good  Medium  ; — such  cases  as  those 
of  Apollonius  and  others  are  not  uncommon,  even  since 
Swedenborg, — and  Sibyls  we  have  in  every  village.  Of  the 
aqua-clairvoyance  I  shall  have  more  to  say  in  another  chap¬ 
ter. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Q,ui  rore  puro  Castaliae  lavit 
Crines  solutos,  *****  Apollo. 

Horat.  Carmin.  L.  iii.  v.  62. 

Who  bathes  his  flowing  hair  in  pure 
Castalian  dew  1 — Apollo. 


Let  US  next  examine  some  other  facts  of  the  ancient  Spirit¬ 
ism,  of  a  somewhat  different  character,  and  see  whether  they 
also  are  sufficiently  analogous  to  those  of  the  present  Spirit¬ 
ism  to  prove  their  apocatastatical  relation  to  each  other.  The 
first  quotation  which  I  shall  bring  forward,  I  desire  to  make 
use  of  for  a  double  purpose,  viz  '•  as  a  specimen  of  spirit-wri¬ 
ting,  and  of  that  quality  of  certain  ancient  waters,  which  con- 
fered  the  power  of  divination,  and  induced  the  clairvoyant 
state,  a  quality,  in  this  respect,  precisely  like  that  of  magnet¬ 
ized  water  in  our  time.  The  ancient  spirits,  so  far  as  I  have 
hitherto  ascertained,  were  not  accustomed  to  make  use  of  the 
Medium’s  hand  for  writing  communications,  except  in  the  case 
of  the  poet,  who  was  supposed  to  be  the  writing-medium  and 
amanuensis  of  the  Muses  ;  and  with  one  other  remarkable 
exception  viz :  that  of  the  Sibyls.  These  ladies  were  a  sort 


05 


of  female  hermits,  who  lived  in  forests,  mountains,  and  caves, 
in  various  places  and  countries,  and  gave  responses  in  writing 

to  those  Ytdio  consulted  them,  just  as  Mrs  C - at  B - 

Mrs  S - at  M - and  so  many  others  at  other  places,  do 

at  present.  They  seem  to  have  written  too,  when  not  consul¬ 
ted  ;  for  the  good  of  posterity  or  whomsoever  it  might  con¬ 
cern,  whenever  the  spirit  tock  them  by  the  arm  ;  so  that  they 
were  obliged  to  write  upon  the  leaves  of  trees  or  whatever 
came  to  hand.  These  have,  unfortunately,  all,  or  near¬ 

ly  all,  perished ;  although  we  have  plenty  of  counterfeits  ; 
their  great  value  and  authority  in  ancient  times  leading  to 
very  extensive  forgeries  of  them. 

In  other  instances,  the  spirits  who  had  acquired  power  to 
control  the  Medium's  muscles,  commonly  tock  the  tongue  in¬ 
stead  of  the  hand,  and  so,  instead  of  going  through  the  pres¬ 
ent  tedious  process  of  training  and  development,  from  rapping 
to  writing,  and  from  writing  to  speaking,  they  saved  time,  and 
made  speaking  Mediums  at  once.  The  specimens  of  spirit¬ 
writing  which  I  have  found  seem  to  have  been  a  sort  of  achei- 
ropoietic  productions,  or  perhaps  they  were  written  by  the 
‘‘condensed^’  hand  of  the  airy  and  tenuous  spirit-vehicle,  or 
iiSuXov,  which  spirits,  anciently,  as  well  as  now,  made  use  of 
for  locomotion  and  other  purposes.  Even  this  kind  of  writing 
seems  not  to  have  been  common  in  the  former  period,  and  it  is, 
so  far  as  I  know,  in  the  present,  among  the  rarest  of  spirit- 
manifestatioms.  In  regard  to  the  “aquae  hrtidicae,”  as  they 
were  called,  of  which  the  Castalian  fountain  at  Delphi  was 
quite  the  most  famous,  from  the  drinking  of  which  the  Bytliia 
obtained  in  part  her  clairvoyant  powers,  and  perhaps  Apollo 
himself,  to  whom  the  fountain  was  sacred,  and  who,  it  seems, 
was  in  the  habit  of  bathing  his  head  in  it,  probably  when  he 
wished  to  excite  the  vaticinating  mood,  or  he  might  have  used 
it  to  cool  his  brain  as  Byron  did, — and  which  waters  were 
found  also  in  many  other  places  ;  the  most  probable  explana¬ 
tion  of  their  peculiar  quality,  and  one  strictly  analogical, 
reasoning  from  the  present  to  the  past,  is,  to  suppose  that  the 


spirit  wlio  spoke  throngli  the  drinking  Medium,  or  rather, 
that  the  “genius  loci,”  if  he  were,  or  were  not,  the  communi¬ 
cating  spirit,  magnetised  the  water  on  every  occasion  of  its 
use  for  the  purpose  of  divination,  or,  the  latter  personage  may 
have  indulged  a  personal  pride  in  keeping  it  at  alt  ivnies 
magnetised,  for  the  use,  wliether  of  men,  or  of  gods.  In  the 
same  way  ove  may  perhaps  best  explain  the  instances  of  water- 
divination  in  the  preceding  chapter,  that  is,  by  supposing  the 
water  to  have  been  magnetized  by  some  s[.irit,  or  somebody 
else.  The  following  is  the  promised  quotation.  “  It  is  sup¬ 
posed  by  those  who  have  examined  the  sid  ject,  that,  the  water 
in  this  place  (Daphne,  in  Syria,)  comes  from  the  Castalian 
fountain,  which  confers  the  faculty  of  divination  ;  having  the 
same  name,  and  the  same  qualities,  as  that  at  Delphi.  They 
Ivoast  that  Hadrian,  while  yet  a  private  man,  received  inti¬ 
mations  here  concerning  the  empire.  For,  they  say,  that 
having  dipt  a  leaf  of  laurel  in  the  spring,  he  found,  on  taking 
it  ovit,  a  prediction  of  the  future  plainly  written  thereon.” — 
(Sozomeu  Lib.  v.) 

That  this  was  no  mere  boast  of  those  concerned  for  the 
credit  of  the  spring  is  proved  by  the  fact  related  by  several 
other  historians,  that,  on  coming  to  the  empire,  Iladiian 
Availed  in,  and  shut  up,  this  spring,  lest  it  should  teach  others 
how  to  become  emperors  ;  and  that  it  remained  closed  until 
Julian’s  time.  Perhaps  other  emperors  as  Avell  as  Hadrian 
Avere  afraid  of  it.  This  spring  Avas  perhaps  the  only  one, 
among  the  divining  waters,  Avliich  had  the  faculty  of  express¬ 
ing  Itself  in  Avriting  ;  but  the  same  kind  of  spirit-Avriting  Avas 
often  found  inscribed  upon  rocks  and  Avails,  (Nicephorus  Gre- 
goras  Hist.  Lib.  v.)  the  spirits  being  able  in  those  days  to 
communicate  Avithout  a  Medium,  as  they  are  beginning  to  do 
in  these. 

But  Ave  must  consider  a  fcAV  more  instances  of  the  curious, 
and  marvelous,  not  to  say  miraculous,  effects  of  the  ancient 
divining  Avaters.  And  Avould  it  not  be  Avell  that  our  oAvn 
springs  should  bo  carefully  cxuUiinod,  Avith  a  view  to  ascer- 


67 


tain  Avliethcr  tlioy  do  not,  some  of  tlicm,  possess  analogons 
powers  ?  Or  if  not,  perhaps  some  benevolent  spirits  may 
consent  to  take  charge,  and  preside,  each  over  his  own  foun¬ 
tain,  and  become  the  genius  loci,  and  impart  to  the  waters 
the  same  poAvers  as  did  their  apocatastatic  brethren.  We 
have,  in  modern  times,  plenty  of  healing  waters  for  diseases 
of  the  bod}/,  many  of  them  too,  presided  over  by  spirits,  or, 
at  least,  they  Avere  so  not  long  since,  A\diy  may  Ave  not  have, 
for  the  benefit  of  the  soul  ?  a  series  of  good  theological 
Avaters,  judiciously  and  conveniently  located!! — A\diat  could 
tend  more  to  a  healthful  and  true  “progress.”  This  too,  Avill 
be  eA'olved,  as  sure  as  ours  is  apocatastatic  of  the  period 
Ave  liaom  supposed.  Our  business,  hoAvever,  at  present,  is  Avith 
the  ancient  fountains. 

“  It  is  Avell  knoAvn  that  the  Oracle  at  Colophon  gives  res¬ 
ponses  by  means  of  Avater.  For  there  is  a  fountain  in  a  sub¬ 
terranean  cavern  from  Avhich  the  prophet  drinks.  Then, 
having,  on  the  prescribed  nights,  performed  the  accustomed 
ceremonies,  he  utters  responses,  having  become  invisible  to 
the  spectators  present!  (oux  sr’ opw.xsvov  capouti  ^£:opci.:) — 
Hence  it  is  is  mani.fest  that  this  Avater  confers  a  divining  poAV- 
cr.”  (lamblichus  de  Mysteriis.) 

This  fountain  at  Colophon  must  have  been  a  very  Avonderful 
fountain,  more  so  if  possible  than  that  Avhich  had  the  poAA-er 
to  Avrite  on  laurel  leaves.  It  not  only  magnetized  the  prophet 
who  drank  of  it,  so  as  to  make  him  clairvoyant,  but  it  enabled 
him  to  magnetise  the  eyes  of  all  the  persons  present  at  his 
sittings — for  such,  I  take  it,  must  be  the  explanation  of  the 
fact  of  his  becoming  invisible  to  them.  This  is  a  poAver  not 
yet,  so  far  as  I  knoAv,  attained  by  any  modern  Medium.  The 
spirits  often  magnetise  the  eyes  of  the  Medium  so  as  to  ren¬ 
der  the  spectators  invisible  to  him,  and  the  biologists  take 
aAvay  the  poAver  of  vision  from  the  eyes  of  those  Avhom  they 
f as  dilate,  but  to  fascinate  a  Avhjle  audience  is,  I  believe 
hitherto  beyond  the  magnetic  battery  of  even  the  R-cv.  Lo  Hoy 


68 


Sunderland.  That  same  Colophonian  water  must  have  been 
equal  to  the  ring  of  Gyges,  and  if  the  fountain  is  not  dry,  its 
re-discovery  would  be  worth  more  to  the  finder  than  all  the 
gold  of  California.  However,  let  me  not  tempt  any  man  of 
Connecticut,  or  of  Hew-Hampshirc,  to  go  in  (;[uest  of  it,  since 
it  might,  after  all,  prove  a  losing  speculation  ;  for  its  powers 
and  properties  are  not,  probably,  inherent  in  the  ovater  itself, 

— it  might  not  therefore  bear  transportation, — Init  are  con- 
fered  by  the  resident  and  presiding  spirit  at  his  pleasure. 
Such  things  are  all  “the  work  of  the  spirits.”  This  is  evi¬ 
dent  from  the  following  remarkable  quotation 

“  The  prophetess  in  Branchidac,  whether  she  hold  in  her 
hanJ  a  wand  anciently  the  gift  of  some  god,  and  becomes 
filled  with  adi\ine  light;  vhcthcr,  sitting  upon  an  axle,  she 
foretells  future  events  ;  whether,  dipping  her  feet  or  the  hem 
of  her  garment  ('-tpaj^rsjov)  in  water;  or  whether,  enveloped  in 
the  vapor  of  water,  she  receives  the  divine  inllucnce  ; — by  all 
these  methods  prepared,  she  receives  the  god  from  ivithout. 
This  is  also  apparent  from  the  number  of  sacrifices,  from  the 
Avhole  of  the  prescri’)ed  ritual,  and  whatever  else  is  done  be¬ 
fore  the  access  of  the  oracular  inspiration,  the  baths  of  the 
prophetess,  her  fasting  three  whole  days,  her  remaining  in 
the  adytum,  her  heeuning  already  encircled  u-iih  light,  and 
rej  )  icing  for  sane  tiu;e  ; — f  )r  all  these  tilings  -demonstrate 
that  the  god  is  invoiced  to  approach,  that  he  cc/nes  from 
without,  that  the  prophetess  is  inspired  in  a  wonderful  manner 
before  she  conies  to  her  accustomed  place  ;  ('  efore  she  opens 
the  sitting)  and  it  is  n  ade  n  ai.ilest,  that,  in  the  sj  irit  vhioh 
rises  from  the  fountain,  (  lesides  the  natural  quality  of  the 
water)  there  is  another  superior  (-psT/Svrspov)  god,  wlni  is  sepa-  . 
rate  from  the  place,  and  who  is  the  cause  of  the  place,  and 
the  country,  and  of  the  whole  divination.”  (Idem  Ibddem.) 
Here  is  a  most  unhesitating  believer  in  the  spirits ;  a  man 
too  who  beyond  all  others  made  it  the  business  of  his  life  to 
investigate  the  mysteries  of  spirit-intercourse  ;  and  to  observe 


69 


and  mark  in  a  scientific  manner, — beyond  all  modern  compe¬ 
tition,  (unless  the  Judge  may  approach  him) — the  attendant 
phenomena,  whether  physiological,  psychical,  or  physical. 
iSuch  investigators  in  the  present  period  are  also  apt  to  be¬ 
come  confirmed  believers. 

The  reader  will  please  to  notice  also  in  passing,  the  beauti¬ 
ful  specimen  of  odic  light  exhibited  by  this  Medium,  the 
grand  display  of  that  sort  of  lurid  lights  being  reserved  for 
the  chapter  on  physical  manifestations. — These  waters,  then, 
were  not  the  cause  of  the  strange  manifestations  which  ac¬ 
companied  the  due  ritual  use  of  them,  but  only  an  occasion, 
or,  uieaus,  without  wliich  the  spirit  could  not,  or  did  not 
choose  to,  produce  them.  It  Avould  be  unphilosophical  hoAv- 
CAmr,  irreligious  rather,  to  suppose  their  employment  to  be 
Avholly  arbitrary.  Perhaps  their  use  aauis  symbolical ;  their 
transparency  imparting,  by  some  sympathetic  action,  the 
same  quality  to  the  othcrAvise  turbid  and  opake  iuturc,  and 
their  purity  suggesting  truth  in  the  communications,  of  Avhich 
the  lio-ht  Avhich  iuAmsted  the  Medium  Avas,  as  it  Avere,  the 
shadoAV  and  assurance. 

But  Ave  must  return  for  a  moment  to  the  fountain  at  Colo¬ 
phon,  Avhich  had  other  note-Avorthy  properties,  besides  the 
poAver  of  rendering  people  invisible.  “  There  is  not  a  Avoman 
here  as  at  Delphi,  but  a  priest  is  elected  from  certain  families, 
and  mostly  from  Miletus,  Avho  is  informed  o)ily  of  the  name 
and  number  of  those  who  come  to  consult  the  Oracle.  lie 
then  retires  into  the  cav^ern,  and  drinking  of  the  secret  foun¬ 
tain, — though  ignorant  generally  (plerumque)  of  letters  and 
poetry, — he  delivers  responses,  in  verse,  to  whatever  oriental 
questions  any  one  has  in  his  niind.  (super  rebus  quas  quis 
mente  concepit.) — (Tacitus,  Annal.  Lib.  ii.)  Here  is  Avhat 
we  may  call,  in  modern  phrase,  ‘‘a  Avell  developed  Medium 
the  poAver  of  ansAvering  mental  questions  being  a  test  and 
proof  of  itj  this  being,  as  I  understand,  one  of  the  highest 


70 


functions  of  tlie  office.  Alto;:5cthcr,  a  sitting  of  this  Medium 
must  have  been  a  very  spirited  affair,  the  medium  himself 
beiii:;  changed  into  a  spirit,  or,  however,  there  was  nothing 
left  for  the  senses  but  his  voice,  vox  and  preterea  nihil ;  and 
then,  splrit-like,  to  read  ones  very  tlioughts  !  !  I  know  not 
wdiether  modern  devclopnicnts  have  pet  reached  so  wholly 
spirital  a  form  of  exhibition  !  This  faculty  of  clairvoyance 
in  relation  to  the  thoughts  of  others,  however,  was  not  pecu¬ 
liar  to  this  Medium,  the  Pythia  expressly  laid  claim  to  it, — “I 
know  what  the  dumb  would  say,  I  hear  the  voice  of  him  who 
speaks  not,” — and  often  manifested  it.  It  was  frequently 
implied  also  in  the  manifestations  of  other  ancient  medi¬ 
ums. 

There  was  another  form  in  which  the  ancient  clairvoyance 
sometimes  expressed  itself,  not  without  imitation,  it  is  said, 
in  the  present  period.  The  following  is  an  example  of  it. 

“  Then  was  performed  a  great  miracle.  For  hliis,  as  is 
related  by  the  Thebans,  having  visited  various  oracles,  came 
to  the  temple  of  Apollo  Ptoi.  There  followed  him  three  men 
publicly  selected  by  the  Thebans,  for  the  purpose  of  recording 
the  responses  which  might  be  given.  But,  on  arriving  at 
the  temple,  they  were  astonished  to  hear  the  priestess  j^n- 
swer  in  some  foreign  language,  instead  of  speaking  Greek, 
soThat  they  had^nothing  to  do.  Whereupon  Mus,  taking 
from  them  their  tablets,  wrote  down  the  responses  of  the 
Oracle — it  was  said  in  the  Carian  tongue, — and  having  made 
the  record  he  departed  &c.”  (Herodotus,  Urania.) 

The  sages  of  India  also,  as  appears  from  the  Life  of  Apol¬ 
lonius,  seem  to  have  possessed  this  power  of  speaking  the 
language  of  those  rvhom  they  addressed.  It  was  also  one 
of  the  accomplishments  of  Apollonius  himself.  (Vita  Apol¬ 
lon.  Lib.  i.  c.  19)  Was  the  rapport  mugneluiue  existing  be¬ 
tween  the  person  speaking  and  the  person  spoken  to  ?  was  it 
the  (5aiat.jv,  or  guardian  angel,  of  the  speaker  who  happened 
to  bo  a  linguist  h  or  is  the  opinion  of  Apollonius  the  true 


71 


one,  atIio  explained  such  facts  In  his  own  case,  and  especially 
all  instances  of  clairvoyance  l)y  water,  like  those  we  have 
been  considering,  as  the  effect  of  the  rythagorean  diet — - 
that  is,  of  water  drinking,  and  n  >n-carniverous  food  ;  beans 
also  being  excluded.  (Vita  Apollon.  Li!),  ii.  c.  37)  He  was, 
however,  something  of  a  spiritist,  perhaps  as  much  so  as 
lamblichus,  and  intimates  that  by  such  means  the  god  is  in¬ 
duced  to  “enter  from  without.” 

Besides  the  developed  Mediums  through  whom  the  spirits 
could  communicate  ovith  a  third  person,  there  were  also  in 
ancient  times  what  are  now  called  impressible  iMediums,  who 
received  the  divine  influx  into  their  oAvn  consciousness,  or 
semi-consciousness,  but  it  Avas  not  fully  transmitted  for  the 
benefit  of  others.  These,  as  might  be  expected,  are  to  bo 
found  mostly  among  the  later,  or  the  noAv,  mystical,  Platonists. 
“  For  the  end  and  scope  Avith.  him  consisted  in  approximating, 
and  bein'*:  united  to,  the  "od  Avho  is  above  all  thiims.  But  he 
four  times  obtained  this  end  Avhile  I  Avas  Avith  him,  and  this  by 
an  ineffable  energy  and  not  in  capacity.  ******  Py  em¬ 
ploying  for  this  purpose  the  paths  narrated  liy  Plato  in  the 
Banquet,  the  supreme  divinity  appeared  to  him,  ayIio  has 
neither  an}*'  form  nor  idea,  Imt  is  estalilished  aboAn  intellect 
and  CA'ery  intelligible  ;  to  Avhom  also  I,  Porphyry,  say  that  I 
once  approached,  and  Avas  uniied,  Avhen  I  Avas  sixty-eight  years 
of  age.”  (Porphyr.  Vita  Plotiii.) 

'j'he  mesmeric  insensibility  Avas  also  one  of  the  ancient 
phenomena  ;  though  I  am  not  aAvaro  that  it  Avas,  at  that  time, 
ever  induced  for  the  purpose  of  aAniding  the  pain  of  surgical 
operations.  Sufficient  evidence  that  ancient  nerves  Avere  not 
different  from  the  present,  has  perhaps  been  given  already 
in  the  extract  from  lamblichus,  and  parallel  facts  are  com¬ 
mon  everyAvhere  among  those  “  Avho  energize  enthusiasti¬ 
cally.”  I  Avill  hoAvcver,  make  one  quotation. 

“Under  Mount  Soracte  is  the  toAvn  of  Feronia,  Avhich  is 
also  the  name  of  the  goddess  of  the  place,  who  is  held  in 


72 


t 


great  honor  there.  There  is  also  a  grove  of  Feronia,  in 
which  are  performed  sacred  rites  of  a  very  wonderful 
kind.  For  those  possessed  by  this  Dmmon  (b  yMrexoiJ-swi  uto 
•TV)?  Ja(;jLovo.c  TauT^jf)  walk  with  naked  feet  over  burning  coals, 
and  hot  ashes,  Avithout  suffering  any  injurious  effects  from 
the  fire.”  (Strabo.  Lib.  v.) 


CHAPTER  VIE 


Evocantes  animas  daemonum,  eas  indiderunt  imaginibus  sanctis  divinisque 
mysteriis,  par  quas  idola  et  bene  faciendi  et  male  vires  habere  potuissent. — 

Hermes  Trismegistus,  in  Asclepian  Dialogue. 

Evoking  the  souls  of  dtemons,  they  caused  them  to  enter  into  images  by 
means  of  sacred  and  mysterious  rites,  and  through  the  presence  of  these  spirits 
the  Idols  were  enabled  to  exhibit  manifestations  both  good  and  evil. 

(pavra^si  Ss  ■ffoXXaxif,  (5ia  yoT^TSiap)  xai  ‘Trupog  ovpaviou  svSoo’sic:^  xai 
SiaiJ.siSiuo'i  Siri  toutwv  ayaXp-ara,  crupi  Ss  auroparw  XajxvaSsg  avanrovTai. 

Psellus,  de  Daemonibus. 

Often  too,  celestial  fire  is  made  to  appear  through  magic,  and  then  statues 
laugh,  and  lamps  are  spontaneously  enkindled. 

*****  void  of  light 
Save  what  the  glimmering  of  these  livid  flames 
Casts  pale  and  dreadful.  Paradise  Lost,  L.  i. 


The  ancients  were  much  more  scientific  than  we  in  their 
methods  of  spirit-intercourse.  They  had  examined  the  sub¬ 
ject  much  more  profoundly.  Their  theoretical  views  were 
more  consistent,  and  mature,  and  relied  upon  with  more  confi¬ 
dence  than  ours.  Minds  of  the  highest  order  were  devoted  to 
the  investigation  of  the  subject.  And  then,  what  is  very 
essential  to  success,  both  in  faith  and  practice,  they  went 
about  it  much  more  religiously  than  we.  It  was  a  sacred 
theurgy  practiced  by  consecrated  and  holy  men  as  a  part  of 
religion.  And  even  the  unlicensed,  and  outsiders,  when  they 
presumed  to  call  spirits  from  the  vasty  deep  ;  or,  through  the 

10 


74 


eyes,  or  top  of  the  head  of  some  enchanted  hoy,  or  water-mag¬ 
netised  woman,  dared  to  peep  into  the  otherwise  invisible 
world,  they  felt  as  if  they  were  sacrilegiously  tresspassing  on 
hallowed  ground,  and  quieted  their  consciences,  and  at  the 
same  time  honored  and  placated  the  spirits,  by  the  due  per¬ 
formance  of  sacred  rites.  Sometimes,  however,  the  spirits, 
instead  of  being  solicited,  were  commanded  to  speak,  and 
then,  especially  if  the  purpose  of  the  questioner  were  unlaw¬ 
ful,  the  rites  were  impious,  with  dire  chanted  imprecations, 
choric  dances,  and  accursed  spells,  not  even  excepting  human 
sacrifices,  or  the  utterance  of  words  or  names  of  such  mystic 
and  mighty  power  as  to  compel  the  gods  themselves.  Yet 
even  these  were  reckoned  religious  ceremonies.  The  an¬ 
cients,  “religiosissimi  homines,”  if  they  had  wished  a  table 
to  tip  them  answers  to  questions,  mental  or  vocal,  instead  of 
laying  their  hands  upon  it,  Avould  first  have  dedicated  it  to 
the  numen,  or  spirit,  from  Avhom  they  expected  the  response, 
and  consecrated  it  Avith  sacrifice,  and  incense,  and  chaplet, 
and  unction,  and  libation,  and  lighted  tapers,  and  then  Avith 
dance,  and  chanted  invocation,  have  invited  the  spirit  to  enter. 
But  the  ancients  did  not  use  tables,  those  profane  inmates  of 
the  kitchen,  for  any  such  hallowed  purpose.  Statues,  ima¬ 
ges,  simulacra,  wrought  Avith  the  utmost  skill,  and  those  “not 
of  every  wood,”  Avere  reckoned  more  appropriate  for  such 
purposes.  And  even  such  a  simulacrum  Avas  only  a  dead  in¬ 
animate  block,  until,  Avith  all  due  and  solemn  rites,  the  spirit, 
Avhose  residence  it  was  to  become,  and  Avho  Avas  to  act  and 
ansAver  in  and  by  it,  had  been  successfully  invoked,  instated, 
and  inthroned  Avithin  it.  Having  thus  prepared  “a  piece  of 
Avuod,”  as  that  old  puritan,  Isaiah,  sneeringly  calls  it,  they  had 
something  that  could  tip,  and  nod,  and  march,  and  float  thro’ 
the  air,  and  speak  besides,  if  occasion  required.  Sometimes, 
however,  they  made  use  of  other  objects  for  purposes  of  divi¬ 
nation  and  consulting  the  spirits,  as  the  tripod  of  the  Pythia, 
for  instance,  and  then  such  objects  had  to  be  consecrated  in 
due  form. 


75 


The  following  example  of  the  method  of  constructing,  con¬ 
secrating,  and  using,  what  may  he  called  a  divining  machine, 
is  quite  a  curiosity  in  itself,  and  interesting  from  its  similarity 
in  several  particulars,  to  some  of  the  present  methods.  I 
would  commend  it  to  the  favorable  notice  and  consideration  of 
modern  spirits,  especially  of  those  beginners  who  are  obliged 
to  spell  out  their  responses.  It  is  really  a  scientific  and  very 
elegant  method  of  using  the  alphabet  for  that  purpose,  and 
much  more  convenient,  than  going,  as  it  were,  fishing  among 
the  whole  twenty-four  letters  in  search  of  each  one  as  it  is 
needed,  alter  the  present  clumsy  fashion.  It  was  quite  an 
artistic,  and  gentleman-like,  dactylomancy,  altogether  superior 
to  any  use  of  the  ring  in  our  time,  as  well  as  to  our  pinaco- 
mancy,  or  the  typtomancy,  which  makes  a  similar  use  of  the 
alphabet.  The  occasion  of  its  employment  in  the  instance 
which  brought  it  under  the  notice  of  history  was  as  follows. 
Certain  political  gentlemen,  in  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Va- 
lens,  being  incautiously  curious  to  know  who  was  to  be  the 
next  emperor,  made  inquiry  of  the  spirits.  The  Roman  po¬ 
lice,  however,  who  managed  to  be  informed  of  many  things 
without  the  aid  of  the  spirits,  were  of  opinion  that  they  were 
asking  improper  questions.  Whereupon  the  inquisitive  gen¬ 
tlemen  suddenly  found  themselves  arraigned  for  high  treason. 
On  their  trial,  one  of  the  operators,  described  to  the  judges 
the  machine,  which  had  been  brought  into  court,  and  their 
way  of  consulting  the  spirits  by  it,  as  follows  : 

“  This  ill-omened  little  table,  which  you  see  before  you, 
most  noble  judges,  we  constructed  of  laurel  twigs.,  with  un¬ 
lucky  auspices,  so  as  to  resemble  in  form  the  Delphic  tripod  ,• 
and  having  consecrated  it  with  mystic,  chanted,  imprecations, 
and  with  much,  and  long  continued,  dancing  in  a  ring  round 
about  it,  at  length  we  got  it  in  operation.  The  method  of 
working  it,  whenever  it  was  consulted  concerning  hidden 
things,  was  on  this  wise.  It  was  placed  in  the  midst  of  an 
apartment,  which  was  made  pure  by  Arabian  odors  ;  a  circu¬ 
lar  plate  composed  of  different  metals  being  simply  laid  upon 


it,  upon  the  extreme  margin  of  whose  circumference  were 
skilfully  engraved  the  scriptile  forms  of  the  twenty-four  let¬ 
ters  of  the  alphabet,  separated  from  each  other  by  accurately 
measured  spaces.  Over  this,  robed  in  linen  vestments,  having 
on  his  feet  sandals  of  the  same  material,  the  torulus  wound 
about  his  head,  and  holding  in  his  hand  the  boughs  of  a  tree 
of  good  omen, — the  spirit  fiom  whom  the  prescient  response 
was  expected  having  been  propitiated  by  appropriate  chants, 
— stood  one  skilled  in  ritual  science ;  holding  suspended  a 
small  ring  composed  of  finest  Carpathian  thread,  and  wrought 
wdth  mystic  rites,  which,  falling  at  regular  intervals  upon 
single  letters,  composed  heroic  verses  conformable  to  the 
questions  asked,  and  complete  in  mode  and  measure,  like  those 
which  proceed  from  the  Pythia,  or  from  the  Oracle  at  Bran- 
chidse.” — (Ammianus,  L.  xxix,  29.) 

Now,  any  spirit  who  can  compress  his  vehicle  so  as  to  pro¬ 
duce  any  physical  manifestation  Avhatever,  could,  one  would 
suppose,  cause  such  a  ring,  suspended  from  the  ceiling  of  the 
room,  to  vibrate  in  the  required  direction,  as  the  spirit  did  in 
this  case  ;  and  certainly,  with  much  more  ease  than  they  can 
tip  tables,  or  even  rap  upon  them.  What  say  you  my  “trick¬ 
sy  spirits”  to  such  an  experiment,  with  the  ring  ?  And  here 
I  desire  the  Commissioner  of  Patents  to  take  notice  that  all 
modern  “Celestial  Telegraphs,”  “Psychographs,”  and  such 
like  recent  contrivances,  are  mere  apocatastatic  copies,  and 
not  patentable  at  all,  as  I  understand  the  law, — I  therefore 
enter  my  “caveat,”  not  that  I  wish  to  apply  for  a  patent,  but, 
“suum  cuique”  let  justice  be  done  ;  anciently,  as  now,  “some 
things  could  be  done  as  well  as  others.” 

But  it  is  time  to  proceed  to  the  ancient  manifestations  by 
means  of  consecrated  effigies,  or  simulacra. 

“  The  image  of  the  god  (Jupiter  Ammon)  is  composed  of 
emeralds  and  other  precious  stones,  and  gives  oracles  in  a  way 
quite  peculiar.  It  is  borne  about  in  a  golden  ship  by  eighty 
priests  ;  who,  bearing  it  upon  their  shoulders,  go  whitherso¬ 
ever  the  god  (image)  by  nodding  his  head,  directs  them.” — 


77 


(Diodor.  Sicul.  Lib.  17)  This  is  not  much,  even  though  Jupi¬ 
ter  did  it.  About  equivalent  to  tipping  a  light-stand,  or  mo- 
vins  some  other  small  furniture. 

“  From  Byblos  I  ascended  Libanus  a  days  journey,  having 
heard  that  there  was  an  ancient  temple  of  V enus  there.  *  *  * 
*  *  *  *  In  it  are  many  precious,  and  many  wonderful,  things^ 
For  the  statues  sweaty  move,  and  give  oracles.  And  often, 
when  the  temple  is  shut,  a  cry  originates  within  (/3ori  gysvero) 
which  has  been  heard  by  many.” — (Lucian,  de  Syria  Dea.) 

These  are  physical  manifestations  equal  to  table-moving,  and 
required,  probably,  spirits  of  about  the  same  stregth,  except 
that  the  ancient  spirits  being  more  at  home  in  their  effigies, 
which  were  a  sort  of  earthly  bodies  for  them,  and  conformed 
at  least  in  some  measure,  to  them,  could  act  in  and  by  them 
with  more  convenience  and  ease,  than  a  modern  spirit  can  get 
into  a  table  and  cause  it  to  move.  The  ability  to  produce 
sounds  and  other  physical  manifestations  is  also  perhaps 
greater,  in  places  consecrated  to  the  spirits,  than  elsewhere. 
At  least,  such  manifestations  in  modern  spirit-temples,  as  for 
instance,  the  thunder  in  Broadway,  the  blowing  of  the  trum¬ 
pet  at  Athens,  Ohio,  &c.,  are  thus  accounted  for.  (See  Spirit¬ 
ual  Telegraph  Nov.  19,  1853.) 

“  K  little  before  the  misfortune  of  the  Lacedaemonians  at 
Leuctra,  there  was  heard  the  clashing  of  arms  in  the  temple 
of  Hercules,  and  the  statue  of  Hercules  sweat  profusely.  At 
Thebes,  at  the  same  time,  in  the  temple  of  Hercules,  the 
folding  doors,  which  were  fastened  with  bolts,  suddenly  opened 
of  themselves,  and  the  arms  which  were  hung  upon  the  walls 
•were  found  thrown  upon  the  ground.  There  were  other  signs 
preceding  this  calamity.  The  statue  of  Lysander  at  Delphi, 
which  the  Lacedaemonians  had  placed  there  after  his  great 
naval  victory  over  the  Athenians,  appeared  crowned  with 
weeds  and  bitter  herbs,  and  the  two  golden  stars  which  had 
been  suspended  there  as  offerings  in  honor  of  Castor  and 
Pollux  who  had  assisted  them  visibly  in  that  battle,  fell,  and 


78 


disappeared.”  (Cicero,  de  Divinatione  i.  94)  These  spirits 
might  almost  have  done  such  things  as  the  Judge  describes,  if 
they  had  not  thought  them  in  bad  taste. 

But  the  ancient  spirits  were  quite  up  to  the  modern  in  phy¬ 
sical  manifestations  every  way,  as  we  shall  see  as  we  pro¬ 
ceed. 

“  There  was,  at  Antioch,  an  image  of  Jupiter  Amicalis,  so 
compounded  by  magic  arts,  and  consecrated  by  unhallowed 
rites,  that  it  mocked  the  eyes  of  those  who  looked  upon  it, 
(ut  falleret  oculos  intuentium,  became  invisible  ?)  and  seemed 
to  exhibit  various  portentous  appearances,  and  to  give  res¬ 
ponses.  The  truth  of  this  was  made  manifest  to  all  men,  and 
even  to  the  emperors  themselves.”  (Rufhnus)  This  art  of 
making  ones  self  invisible  is  one  I  should  be  happy  to  learn 
of  the  spirits,  but  I  am  not  aware  that  any  Mediums,  or  tables, 
in  our  times,  are  accustomed  to  render  themselves  invisible 
to  non-magnetized,  or  non-spirited  people. 

“  There  are  many  Oracles  among  the  Greeks,  many  also 
among  the  Egyptians,  many  in  Africa,  and  many  here  in 
Asia.  But  these  give  responses  neither  without  priests,  nor 
without  interpreters.  Here,  however,  Apollo  is  self-moved, 
and  performs  the  prophetic  office  wholly  by  himself;  and  this 
he  does  as  folloAvs.  When  he  wishes  to  “communicate,”  he 
moves  in  his  'place,  whereupon  the  priests  forthwith  take  him 
up.  Or  if  they  neglect  to  take  him  up,  he  sweats,  and  comes 
forth  into  the  middle  of  the  room,  {sg  (xsrfov  stj  xivsitui)  when, 
however,  others  bear  him  upon  their  shoulders,  he  guides 
them,  moving  from  place  to  place.  At  length  the  chief  priest 
supplicating  him,  asks  him  all  sorts  of  questions.  If  he  does 
not  assent  he  moves  backwards  ;  if  he  approves  he  impels 
forward  those  who  bear  him,  like  a  charioteer.  Thus  they 
arrive  at  responses.  They  do  nothing  except  by  this  method. 
Thus  he  gives  predictions  concerning  the  seasons,  foretells 
storms,  i^'c.  I  will  relate  another  thing  also,  which  he  did  in 
my  presence.  The  priests  were  bearing  him  upon  their 
shoulders — ^he  left  them  below  upon  the  ground,  while  he 


79 


himself  was  borne  aloft  and  alone  into  the  airf  (Lucian,  de 
Syria  Dea) 

Here  now  is  a  hint  which  ought  not  to  be  lost,  A  method 
suggested  in  which  the  prescient  spirits  may  make  themselves 
useful  to  mankind,  and  at  the  same  time  enrich  their  friends, 
— a  kind  of  benevolence  which  wm  are  told  they  like  to  in¬ 
dulge  in.  Let  them  make  a  reliable  almanac,  or  almanacs, 
calculated  for  various  meridians,  and  with  tables  of  the  weather 
for  each  day,  or  each  week  ;  surely,  the  books,  if  found  to 
predict  truly,  would  become  right  saleable, — -a  good  specula¬ 
tion  for  some  of  the  publishers  for  the  spirits, — but,  if  they 
cannot  inform  us  correctly  in  regard  to  the  future  of  this 
world,  let  us  be  cautious  hoAV  we  trust  them  in  regard  to 
the  next. 

Here  we  have  also  as  good  a  specimen  of  what  “a  piece  of 
wood”  can  do,  if  it  were  wood,  as  any  modern  table  or  other 
furniture  has  exhibited  hitherto,  not  excepting  the  table  that 
went  out  at  the  Avindow,  or  the  bell  that  the  Judge  saw  float 
over  the  heads  of  the  company,  ringing  itself  as  it  went. — 
The  old  spirits  could  also  play  on  musical  instruments  as  well 
as  the  new  ones, 

“  The  brazen  statue  of  Memnon  which  held  a  harp,  at 
certain  hours  emitted  musical  sounds,  (canebat)  Cambyses 
commanded  it  to  be  opened,  suspecting  some  hidden  mechan¬ 
ism  within.  Nevertheless,  the  statue,  which  had  been  conse¬ 
crated  Avith  magic  rites,  after  it  had  been  opened,  continued 
its  music  at  the  accustomed  times.”  (Scholiastes  Juvenalis.) 

Some  of  the  ancient  statues  could  even  speak,  after  a 
fashion. 

Concerning  this  statue,  (of  Apollo)  Avhere  it  stood,  and 
hoAV  it  spoke,  I  have  said  nothing.  It  is  to  be  understood, 
however,  that  there  Avas  a  statue  at  Delphi  Avhich  emitted  an 
inarticulate  voice.  For  you  must  knoAV  that  spirits  speak 
with  inarticulate  voices  because  they  have  no  organs  by  which 
they  can  speak  articulately,”  (Nonnus) 

This  author  seems  not  to  have  been  Avell  informed  in  regard 


80 


/  to  the  speaking  powers  of  the  spirits,  since  all  ancient  his- 
i  tory  declares  that  their  voice  was  often  heard  in  the  air, 
speaking  articulately,  and  repeating  the  same  words  in  dif- 
ferent  places  ;  and  this  was  called,  and  universally  known, 
by  the  name  of  “Vox  Divina.”  In  the  case  of  the  statue 
;  above  mentioned,  the  spirit  was  evidently  experimenting  with 
the  perverse  material  of  which  it  was  made,  to  see  if  he  could 
make  it  articulate,  as  spirits  now  train  the  muscles  which  they 
wish  to  use  for  writing  or  speaking  ;  but  as  the  statue  had  no 
larynx  or  other  organs  of  voice,  as  modern  mediums  have, 
the  spirit  found  the  solid  stone  (for  the  statue  was  probably 
of  stone,)  too  inflexible  for  his  purpose. 

But  not  only  the  inanimate,  wood  and  stone  media — if  it  is 
proper  to  call  those  objects  inanimate  into  which  the  spirits 
had  been  invoked  and  inchanted, — exhibited  remarkable  phe¬ 
nomena  ;  the  human,  flesh-and-blood  Mediums  also,  when  the 
spirits  had  entered  into  them,  gave  wonderful  physical  mani¬ 
festations  of  their  presence. 

“  The  signs,  of  those  that  are  inspired,  are  multiform.  For 
the  inspiration  is  indicated  by  the  motions  of  the  (whole)  body, 
and  of  certain  parts  of  it,  by  the  perfect  rest  of  the  body,  by 
harmonious  orders  and  dances,  and  by  elegant  sounds,  (musi¬ 
cal  ?)  or  the  contraries  of  these.  Either  the  body,  likewise, 
is  seen  to  be  elevated,  or  increased  in  bulk,  or  to  ho  bo  homo 
along  stihlimely  in  the  air.  An  equability  also  of  voice 
according  to  magnitude  5  or  a  great  variety  of  voice  after  in- 
tervats  of  silence,  may  be  observed.  And  again,  sometimes 
the  sounds  have  a  musical  intension  and  remission.”  (lambli- 
chus  de  Mysteriis.) 

It  seems  it  was  not  unusual  for  the  Medium  to  become  not 
merely  clairvoyant,  but  meteoric  also,  so  as  quite  to  counter¬ 
balance  and  defy  the  law  of  gravity,  just  as  happens  to 

]VIr. _ and  some  other  modern  Mediums.  The  “increase  in 

bulk”  also,  is  curious  from  its  analogy  to  the  blown-up  condi¬ 
tion  of  the  Mediums  in  the  middle  ages,  and  indeed  in  more 
recent  times,  whereby  they  were  unable  to  sink  in  water  ; — 


81 


which  fact  was  observed  also  in  very  ancient  times,  as  appears 
from  the  following  quotation. 

“  These  same  people,  moreover,  (he  is  speaking  of  those 
who  had  the  power  of  fascinating  by  the  eye,)  cannot  be  made 
to  sink  in  water,  even  where  weighed  down  by  their  (wet) 
clothes.”  (Phylarchus  apud  Plin.  Nat.  Hist.  vii.  2.) 

As  we  must  suppose  the  spirits  to  operate  by,  and  accor¬ 
ding  to,  the  laws  of  nature,  it  seems  likely  that  they  produce 
these  meteoric  effects  by  retaining,  or  generating,  Avithin  the 
bodies  of  those  manifesting  such  marvellous  specific  levity, 
the  requisite  quantity  of  hydrogen,  comparatively  little  when 
they  are  only  to  swim,  but  a  good  deal,  one  would  think,  and 
pretty  well  compressed,  ivlien  they  are  to  become  lighter  than 
atmospheric  air.  It  is  also  apparent  from  the  “great  variety 
of  voice,”  spoken  of  by  lamblichus,  that  several  spirits  could 
possess  the  medium  at  the  same  time,  or  in  succession  at  the 
same  sitting,  or  at  least,  such  is  the  present  explanation  of 
similar  changes  of  voice.  The  manifestations  related  by 
lamblichus  Avill  do  very  well  for  Egypt,  which  had  anciently 
great  reputation  in  that  line.  India  however,  seems  to  have 
been  the  birthplace  and  cradle  of  the  science  olF  spirit-inter¬ 
course,  and  spirit-influence  and  phenomena.  Egypt  ivas  but 
an  imperlect  and  far-off’  imitator,  as  appears  from  the  dispute 
of  Apollonius  Tyanensis  with  the  Egyptian  gymnosophists. 
(Philostrat.  Apollon.  Tyan.  Vita  Lib.  vi.  c.  11)  The  sages 
of  India  Avere,  apparently,  at  all  times,  clairvoyant,  and  me¬ 
teoric,  or  possessed  of  the  poAver  of  rising  into  the  air,  when¬ 
ever  they  chose  to  exercise  it.  The  folloAving,  from  an  eye 
Avitness,  beats  Egypt  entirely,  and  quite  distances  the  doings 
of  all  the  modern  spirits  of  Avhom  I  liaA^e  any  definite  knoAvl- 
edge. 

“  I  have  seen,  said  Apollonius,  the  Brahmins  of  India, 
dwelling  on  the  earth  and  not  on  the  earth,  living  fortified 
without  fortifications,  possessing  nothing,  and  yet  everything. 
This  he  spoke  someAvhat  enigmatically ;  but  Damis  (the 
companion  of  his  journey  to  India)  says  they  sleep  upon  the 


82 


ground,  but  that  the  earth  furnishes  them  with  a  grassy 
couch  of  whatever  plants  they  desire,  That  he  himself  had 
seen  them,  elevated  two  cubits  above  the  surface  of  the  earthy 
walk  in  the  air !  not  for  the  purpose  of  display,  which  was 
quite  foreign  to  the  character  of  the  men];  but  because  what¬ 
ever  they  did,  elevated,  in  common  with  the  Sun,  above  the 
earth,  would  be  more  acceptable  to  that  Deity.  ******* 
Having  bathed,  they  formed  a  choral  circle,  having  larchas 
for  their  coryphseus,  and  striking  the  earth  with  their  divi¬ 
ning  rods,  it  rose  up,  no  otherwise  than  does  the  sea  under 
the  power  of  the  wind,  and  caused  them  to  ascend  into  the 
air.  Meanwhile  they  continued  to  chant  a  hymn  not  unlike 
the  paean  of  Sophocles  which  is  sung  at  Athens  in  honor  of 
Aesculapius.  When  they  had  descended  dkc.”  (Philostrat. 
Vita  Apollon.  Tyanens.  Lib.  hi.  c.  15,  17.) 

Thus  much  may  suffice  for  this  kind  of  physical  manifes¬ 
tations,  although  I  have  passed  by  many  recorded  and  well 
attested  facts  still  more  extraordinary ;  but  I  do  not  choose 
to  bring  forward  anything  which  might  prove  incredible  in  the 
present  stage  of  our  own  development.  It  were  a  pleasant  and 
edifying  sight,  to  behold  a  modern  Circle  floating  in  the  air, 
and  gyrating  around  their  Medium,  while  they  chant  a  hymn 
of  invocation  to  their  Spirit-President.  When  we  have  at¬ 
tained  to  this  point  of  imitation,  antiquity  will  set  us  still 
more  difficult  lessons. 

The  next  class  of  physical  manifestations  of  which  I  shall 
give  some  specimens,  is  that  of  the  luminous  appearances  now 
called  galvanic,  magnetic,  or  odic  lights,  which  sometimes  as¬ 
sume  shadowy  spectral  forms.  These  seem  to  have  attended 
the  ancient  spirit-intercourse  more  commonly,  and  more  re¬ 
markably,  than  they  have  hitherto  done  in  the  present  itera¬ 
tion  of  it. 

We  have  seen  that  the  prophetess  at  Branchidae  became 
encircled  with  light  during  her  preparations  to  give  responses  ; 
— the  same  thing  happened  to  the  Pythia  according  to  lam- 
blichus.  “  The  prophetess  at  Delphi,  whether,  by  means  of 


83 


the  thin  and  fiery  vapor  which  proceeds  from  the  mouth  of  the 
cavern,  she  gives  oracles  to  men  ;  or  whether,  from  the  Ady¬ 
tum,  sitting  upon  a  brazen  tripod,  or  upon  a  four-footed  stool 
sacred  to  the  god,  she  delivers  responses  ;  in  either  case,  she 
gives  herself  up  wholly  to  the  divine  influence,  and  becomes 
effulgent  with  rays  of  lightP  {a.’rfo  ts  tov  'irupog  axTivog  xarawya- 
^£Tai)  (lamblichus  de  Mysteriis)  This  manifestation  of  lu¬ 
minous  appearances  must  have  been  quite  common  anciently, 
if  indeed,  not  an  invariable  attendant  upon  the  presence  of 
true  and  good  spirits  ;  though  not  always  visible  except  to 
the  Mediums,  as  perhaps  is  implied  in  the  following  ex¬ 
tract  : — • 

“  But  a  species  of  fire  is  seen  by  the  recipient,  prior  to 
the  spirit  being  received,  wdiich  sometimes  becomes  manifest 
to  all  the  spectators,  either  when  the  numen  is  descending  or 
when  he  is  departing.  *  *  *  Those,  however,  Avho  without 
these  blessed  spectacles,  draw  down  spirits  invisibly,  are 
without  vision,  as  if  they  Avere  in  the  dark,  and  knoAV  nothing 
of  what  they  do,  except  some  small  signs  which  become  visi¬ 
ble  through  the  body  of  him  A\dio  is  divinely  inspired,  (the 
Medium)  and  certain  other  things  which  are  manifestly  seen, 
but  they  are  ignorant  of  all  the  most  important  particulars 
of  divine  inspiration,  Avhich  are  concealed  from  them  in  the 
invisible.”  (Iambi,  de  Myst.)  These  lights,  which  were  some¬ 
times  a  mere  halo,  and  sometimes  spectral  appearances,  or 
apparitions,  were  a  manifestation  of  the  utmost  practical  im¬ 
portance,  inasmuch  as,  by  them,  was  to  be  determined  the 
character  of  the  spirit  in  possession  of  the  Medium.  I  would 
commend  this  method  to  the  early  and  careful  consideration 
of  the  present  Circles,  since  they  seem  to  have  great  difiiculty 
on  this  point,  and  are  often  led  into  uery  amusing,  not  only, 
but  vexatious,  and  expensive,  mistakes,  (See  Supernal  The¬ 
ology)  for  want  of  some  such  scientific  test  of  the  character 
of  the  spirits.  In  order,  therefore,  to  relieve  the  circles  of 
such  annoying  inconveniences  in  future,  and  to  hasten  their 
development  in  this  direction,  I  will  furnish  them,  from  the 


84 


highest  authority,  with  the  scientific  test  they  are  so  much  in 
need  of,  while,  at  the  same  time  I  accomplish  my  purpose 
of  giving  a  view  of  this  class  of  phenomena  in  the  ancient 
period. 

*  “  What  is  the  indication  of  a  god,  or  angel,  or  archangel, 
or  demon,  or  a  certain  archon,  or  a  soul  being  present  ?  For 
to  speak  boastingly,  and  to  exhibit  a  jihantasm  of  a  certain 
quality,  is  common  to  gods  and  demons^  and  to  all  the  more 
excellent  genera.”  (Porphyry  to  the  Egyptian  Anebo. ) 

The  subject  must  have  excited  the  same  questions,  and 
questioning,  formerly  as  at  present ;  however,  lamblichus 
throws  great  light  upon  it  in  his  answer  to  the  above  query, 
as  follows  : — 

“  The  phantasms,  or  luminous  appearances,  of  the  gods  are 
uniform,  those  of  demons  are  various  |  *  those  of  souls 

are  all-various.  And  the  phasmata,  indeed,  of  the  gods  will 
be  seen  shining  with  a  salutary  light ;  those  of  archangels 
will  be  terrible  ;  those  of  angels  more  mild  ;  those  of  demons 
will  be  dreadful ;  those  of  heroes  are  milder  than  those  of 
demons  ;  those  of  archons  produce  astonishment ;  and  those 
of  souls  are  similar  to  the  heroic  phasmata.  The  phasmata 
of  the  gods  are  entirely  immutable  according  to  magnitude, 
form,  and  figure  ;  those  of  archangels  fall  short  in  sameness  ; 

*  *  *  *  those  of  demons  are,  at  different  times  seen  in  a  dif¬ 
ferent  form,  and  appear  at  one  time  great,  and  at  another 
time  small,  yet  are  still  recognized  to  be  the  phasmata  of 
demons  j  *  *  *  *  *  and  those  of  souls  imitate  in  no  small  de¬ 
gree  the  demoniacal  mutations.  *****  the  forms  of  the 
gods  which  are  seen  by  the  eyes  the  most  clear  spectacles  of 
truth  are  perceived  |  *  *  *  the  images  of  demons  are  obscure  ; 
*****  and  the  images  of  souls  appear  to  be  of  a  shadowy 
form. 

Again  the  fire  of  the  gods  appears  to  be  entirely  stable  ; 
that  of  archangels  is  tranquil ;  but  that  of  angels  is  stably 
moved.  The  fire  of  demons  is  unstable  ;  but  that  of  heroes 
is,  for  the  most  part,  rapidly  moved.  The  fire  of  those  ar- 


85 


clions  that  are  of  the  first  rank  is  tranquil ;  but  of  those  that 
are  of  the  last  order  is  tumultuous  ;  and  the  fire  of  souls  is 
transmuted  in  a  multitude  of  motions.” 

The  ligld  also,  from  the  different  orders  of  spirits  pro¬ 
duces  different  physical  effects  upon  the  beholders.  The 
moral  effect  of  the  vision  of  the  different  orders  is  also 
different.  All  these  different  appearances,  and  their  effects, 
are  to  be  accurately  observed,  by  those  who  would  not  fall  in¬ 
to  fatal  errors  and  delusions  :  “  For  (hear,  hear,  and  mark,) 

when  a  certain  error  happens  in  the  theurgic  art,  and  not 
such  autoptic,  or  self-visible,  images  are  seen  as  ought  to 
occur,  but  others  instead  of  these,  then,  inferior  'powers  as¬ 
sume  the  form  of  the  more  venerable  orders,  and  pretend  to 
he  those  whose  forms  they  assume^  and  hence,  arrogant  words 
are  uttered  by  them,  and  such  as  exceed  the  authority  they 
possess.  *  *  *  much  falsehood  is  derived  from  the  perversion 
which  it  is  necessary  the  priests  should  learn  from  the  whole 
order  of  the  phasmata,  by  the  proper  observation  of  which, 
they  are  able  to  confute  and  reject  the  fictitious  pretexts  of 
those  inferior  powers,  as  by  no  means  pertaining  to  true  and 
good  spirits.”  (lamblichus  de  Mysteriis.) 

“  That,  however,  which  is  the  greatest  thing,  is  this,  that 
he  who  draws  down  a  certain  divinity,  sees  a  spirit  descen¬ 
ding  and  entering  into  some  one,  recognizes  its  magnitude 
and  quality  ;  and  from  this  spectacle  the  greatest  truth  and 
power  of  the  god,  and  especially  the  order  he  possesses,  as 
likewise  about  what  particulars  he  is  adapted  to  speak  the 
truth,  what  the  power  is  which  he  imparts,  and  what  he  is 
able  to  effect,  become  known  to  the  scientific.''^  (Idem  Ibi¬ 
dem.) 

These  rules  imply  that  such  lights,  phantasms,  “livid 
flames,”  or  spectral  appearances,  were  the  usual,  and  that 
they  ought  to  be,  the  constant  attendants  upon  spirit-inter¬ 
course.  They  are  also  sufficiently  definite  and  precise,  un¬ 
doubtedly  ^  to  serve  instead  of  spirit-credentials,  in  the  hands 


86 


of  the  “scientific.”  But  let  the  inexperienced,  and  those 
who  have  more  curiosity  than  caution,  beware  of  spirits  who 
refuse  to  show  their  light ; — they  are,  of  course,  spirits  of 
darkness.  That  these  rules  are  capable  of  answering  the 
purpose  for  which  they  were  intended,  of  determining  the 
character  and  quality  of  a  “  self-visible  spirit,”  is  proved 
and  illustrated  by  the  following  example  of  their  applica¬ 
tion  : — 

“  A  certain  Egyptian  priest,  who  at  that  time  was  at 
Rome,  and  who  became  known  to  Plotinus  through  one  of  his 
friends,  being  desirous  to  exhibit  his  wisdom  in  that  illustri¬ 
ous  city,  persuaded  our  philosopher  to  attend  him,  for  the 
purpose  of  beholding,  through  his  invocations,  his  familiar 
demon  ;  to  which  request  Plotinus  readily  consented.  But 
the  invocation  was  performed  in  the  temple  of  Isis  ;  this 
being  the  only  pure  place  in  Rome  the  Egyptian  priest  was 
able  to  find.  However,  instead  of  a  demon,  as  was  expected, 
a  god  approached,  who  was  not  in  the  genus  of  demons.  The 
Egyptian,  astonished  at  the  unexpected  event,  exclaimed, 
“  Happy  Plotinus  !  who  hast  a  god  for  a  demon,  and  whose 
familiar  attendant  does  not  rank  among  the  inferior  kind.” 
(Porphyr.  Vita  Plotin.)  The  practiced  eye  of  the  priest  at 
once  detected  the  rank  and  quality  of  the  spirit,  doubtless  by 
the  character  of  the  light  by  which  he  made  himself  visible. 

Here,  now,  is  something  which  begins  to  look  like  science. 
Something  by  which  the  “reaZ  reality”  and  actual  character 
of  the  spirits  and  of  their  communications  may  be  tried  and 
tested.  Here  is  a  veritable  science  of  spiritism,  reliable  and 
appropriate.  But,  without  “the  glimmering  of  these  livid 
flames,”  all  is  darkness  ;  and  without  accurate  distinction, 
and  scientific  appreciation  of  their  difierent  shades,  motions, 
and  effects  upon  the  beholders,  both  physical  and  psychical, 
all  is  still  uncertainty.  Such  being  the  result,  anciently,  and 
the  successful  and  satisfactory  result — for  lamblichus  says 
the  true  theurgist  would  laugh  at  the  attempt  of  evil  daemons 
to  deceive  him — of  five  hundred  years  of  investigation  and 


87 


scientific  experiment ;  what  rashness  in  our  modern  beginners, 
mere  sophomores  in  this  abstrusest  of  all  the  sciences,  viz  : 
19  scrigiiixT]  Twv  4'Su(5wv  xat  -^su^ovtwv  ! — what  rashness  !  to  go  on  stum¬ 
bling — as  many,  nay  most,  do  go  on — without  the  guidance 
of  those  various  and  peculiar  subternal  phosphorescences 
which  are  the  natural  lights  and  safety-lamps  of  the  region 
under  exploration. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

For  rather  er  he  shulde  faile, 

W^ith  nicrcrmance  he  wolde  assaile, 

To  make  his  incantation. 

Gower. 

Lamps  must  be  solemnly  burned  before  it ;  and  then,  after  some  diabolical 

exorcisms  necromanlically  performed,  the  head  shall  prove  vocal. 

Gregory,  Posthum. 


In  the  examples  of  divination  and  other  manifestations 
which  have  been  related,  little  has  been  said  in  regard  to  the 
character  or  rank  of  the  spirits  whose  presence  was  supposed 
to  be  necessary  to  the  phenomena.  Ancient  opinions  varied 
on  this  point.  By  some  it  was  held  that  they  were  all  spirits 
of  dead  men  (Euhemerus  et  alii)  not  even  excepting  the  gods 
themselves,  who,  by  a  gradual  process  going  on  for  ages,  like 
unto  certain  geological  changes,  came  at  length  to  be  fully 
transformed,  from  simple  ghosts,  unto  the  nature  of  deity. 
Indeed  the  process  was  going  on  pretty  rapidly  before  their 
eyes,  as  in  such  cases  as  those  of  Hercules  and  Aesculapius, 
and  others,  not  to  mention  those  mushroom  gods,  the  dead 
Roman  Emperors,  who  sprang  up  in  a  night,  from  beasts,^  into 
divinities,  demanding  their  temples  and  altars,  and  giving 
oracles  in  competition  with  Apollo  himself. 


89 


The  prevailing  belief,  however,  was  that  there  were  several 
orders  of  gods,  then  heroes,  demons,  and  souls.  Which  last 
Avere  not  necessarily  spirits  of  the  dead,  because  all  ancient 
souls  were  pre-existent  like  Dr.  Beecher’s,  and  Spirit-Sweden- 
borg’s  (Celestial  Telegraph,)  and  a  soul  communicating  thro’ 
a  medium,  or  a  simulacrum,  might  be  one  which  had  not  yet 
“  descended  into  matter,”  or  it  might  be  the  spirit  of  a  dead 
man;  probably  the  rules,  of  which  lamblichus  has  given  us  a 
specimen,  enabled  “  the  scientific”  to  distinguish  the  one  kind 
from  the  other.  But  however  much  the  gods  or  unembodied 
souls  may  have  been  consulted  ;  the  disembodied  souls,  or 
spirits  of  the  dead,  seem  to  have  been,  anciently,  as  now,  the 
favorite  source  of  information,  especially  in  the  private  Cir- 
j  cles  and  Sittings.  Perhaps  there  Avas  some  feeling  of  re¬ 
straint  and  hesitation  in  regard  to  calling  familiarly,  in  a 
private  Avay  and  not  in  their  public  temples,  upon  the  “Great 
Gods,”  as,  in  our  time,  I  believe,  the  Almighty,  and  even 
the  Angels,  are  not  commonly  sent  for  to  answer  questions. 

The  common  belief  of  the  ancients  in  regard  to  the  rela- 
,  tion  of  the  living  to  their  dead  ancestors  was  also  extremely 
favorable  to  the  prevalence  of  this  kind  of  spirit-intercourse. 
The  subjoined  extract  gives  a  very  good  idea  of  that  belief 
especially  among  the  Romans.  We^see  here  that  the  term  de- 
^  mon  may  mean  also  a  spirit  of  the  dead. 

“  There  is  also  a  second  class  of  dmmons  viz  :  the  souls  of 
those  who  having  lived  meritoriously  have  departed  from  the 
body.  Such  a  soul  I  find  called  in  the  ancient  Latin  tongue 
Lemur.  Of  these  Lemures,  he,  who  having  obtained  by  lot 
the  guardianship  of  his  posterity,  presides  over  the  house 
with  a  quiet  and  placable  superintendence  is  called  the 
household  Lar.  But  those,  who,  on  account  of  a  vicious  life, 
having  obtained  no  happy  seats,  are  a  sort  of  vagabonds,  or 
are  punished  by  a  kind  of  exile  ;  and  Avho  inflict  idle  terrors 
upon  good  men,  but  more  real  evils  upon  the  Avicked  ; — this 
kind  is  commonly  called  Larvae.  But  inasmuch  as  it  is  un- 

12 


90 


^certain  ■vvhicli  of  these  hinds  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  any  one, 

(  whether  it  may  be  a  Lar  or  a  Larva,  he  is  called  the  god 
Manes,  Maneni  Deum, — the  appellation  god  being  added  by 
way  of  respect.  Because,  of  those  belonging  to  this  class, 
those  only  are  considered  gods  who  having  passed  through  life 
with  wisdom  and  justice,  and  being  afterwards  supposed  by 
men  to  possess  divine  powers,  are  honored  Avith  lanes  and 
religious  ceremonies  ;  as  Amphiaraus  in  Boeotia  ;  in  Africa 
Mopsus  ;  in  Egypt  Osiris  ;  others  in  other  places,  and  Aes¬ 
culapius  everyAvhere.  But  this  whole  order  of  dminons  con¬ 
sists  of  those  who  Avere  once  in  human  bodies.”  (Apuleius  de 
Deo  Socratis.) 

These  last,  the  spirits  of  distinguished  men,  had  every¬ 
where  their  public  fanes  and  temples,  or  more  humble  places 
of  resort,  Avhere  they  could  be  at  all  times  consulted, — as 
SAvedenborg  and  Dr.  Franklin,  and  especially  our  defunct 
M.  D’s  Avill  have  in  due  time  ;  we  already  have  panpsychia, 
or  places  consecrated  to  spirits  in  general,  and  each  will  be 
sure  to  claim  his  separate,  and  appropriate,  honors  shortly, — 
the  whole  Avorld  was  croAvded  with  them,  “  stipatus  est  orbis,” 
says  an  ancient  writer.  But  above  all  others  Aesculapius 
was  everywhere  in  demand  and  repute.  This  man  had  been 
a  physician  in  his  life-time  of  considerable  business  and  repu¬ 
tation  ;  but  his  post-mortem  practice  was  one  of  incredible  ex¬ 
tent, — the  poor  spirit  must  have  had  a  Aveary  travel  of  it  even 
for  a  spirit,  to  attend  at  all  his  offices  as  often  as  he  Avas  called 
for^ — y^ith.  an  ever  increasing  fame,  justly  due, — as  appeared 
from  innumerable  tablets  suspended  in  his  temples  by  grate¬ 
ful  patients,  describing  their  disease,  giving  the  prescription, 
and  recording  the  cure, — to  remarkable  success.  A  fact,  this 
success,  not  at  all  incredible,  or  likely  to  be  doubted,  by  any 
one  competent  to  form  a  correct  opinion.  This  is  plain  from 
the  record  of  his  cases.  Most  of  these  invaluable  documents 
have  perished  through  time  and  the  envy  of  the  Christians. — 
A  few  however  remain,  of  which  the  folloAving  are  a  speci¬ 


men  : 


91 


“  At  tills  very  time  the  Oracle  gave  response  to  Cains  who 
was  blind :  ‘  That  he  should  approach  the  sacred  altar ; 

that  he  should  kneel ;  that  from  the  right  side  he  should  come 
to  the  left,  and  place  five  fingers  upon  the  altar,  and  raise  his 
hand,  and  place  it  upon  his  eyes.’  And  his  sight  was  fully 
restored,  the  people  being  present  and  congratulating.” 

“  To  Lucius  afflicted  with  pain  in  the  side  and  despaired  of 
by  all  men,  the  god  gave  response  :  ‘  That  he  should  approach 
the  altar,  and  take  ashes,  and  mix  with  wine  and  place  upon 
his  side.’  And  he  recovered,  and  publicly  returned  thanks 
to  the  god,  and  the  people  congratulated  him.” 

“  To  Julianus  vomiting  blood  and  despaired  of  by  all  men, 
the  god  gave  response  from  the  oracle  ;  That  he  should  ap¬ 
proach  the  altar  and  take  the  cones  of  the  pine  (or  seeds  of 
the  pine  cone,  xoxxovc:  jpo/SiXou)  and  eat  them  three  days  with 
honey.’  And  he  recovered  and  publicly  returned  thanks  to 
the  god.” 

“  To  Valerius  Aper,  a  blind  soldier,  the  oracle  gave  res¬ 
ponse  ;  ‘  that  he  should  take  the  blood  of  a  wfflite  cock  and 
honey,  and  rub  them  together,  and  therewith  anoint  his  eyes 
three  days.’  And  he  saw,  and  came,  and  gave  thanks  &c.” — 
(Gruteri  Thesaurus.) 

No  other  disembodied  response-giving  spirit  was,  perhaps, 
quite  as  ubiquitous  as  that  of  Aesculapius,  but  their  number 
and  distribution  were  such  as  to  be  quite  sufficient  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  public,  without  the  trouble  of  much 
travel,  either  on  the  part  of  the  spirits  or  of  the  public. 
From  the  ancient  Orpheus  , whose  skull  gave  responses  in  a 
cave  at  Lesbos,  (Philostratus  in  Heroicis)  down  to  the  last 
dead  Emperor,  or  emperor’s  mistress,  the  host  of  publicly 
vaticinating  spirits  of  the  dead,  had  become  prodigiously 
great. 

But,  besides  all  these,  there  were  more  private  methods 
of  “  holding  conversation  with  the  shades  and  spirits  of  the 
deceased,”  (Plinius  Nat.  Hist.  Lib.  xxx.  v.)  methods  which 
were  reckoned  magical,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  case  of  the 


92 


enclianted  boys.  By  this  method  spirits  could  be  evoked  at 
pleasure,  and  sent  on  errands  as  is  the  present  fashion. 
“  Apion  said  that  he  could  call  up  spirits  and  send  them  to 
ask  Homer  of  what  country  he  was,  and  who  were  his  parents, 
but  that  he  did  not  dare  to  divulge  the  answer.”  (Idem  xxx. 
vi.) 

These  magic  arts  of  divination  including  necromancy,  or 
divination  by  the  dead,  were  taught  among  the  arcana  of  the 
temples,  and  constituted  a  part  of  the  esoteric  lessons  of  the 
philosophers  who  had  traveled  into  Egypt  and  India  to  learn 
them.  (Idem  xxx.  ii.)  In  the  more  ancient  times  these  were 
strictly  mystic  and  esoteric  acquirements,  but  at  a  later  period, 
Home  and  the  empire  were  filled  with  traveling  magicians, 
and  Egyptians,  like  unto  our  own  traveling  Mediums,  who 
could  fascinate,  enchant,  get  responses  from  spirits,  make 
visible  one’s  attendant  demon,  and  if  their  employer  could 
furnish  means  for  the  requisite  rites,  would  undertake  to  make 
the  gods  themselves  obedient  to  his  will. 

This  they  attempted  to  do  for  Nero,  who,  unsatisfied  to 
hold  divided  empire  with  Jupiter,  Avas  resolved  to  be  sole 
monarch  and  to  reign  over  gods  also  as  well  as  men.  (Plin. 
Nat.  Hist.  xxx.  v.)  However,  the  gods,  with  the  aid  of  Gal- 
ba,  were  more  than  a  match  for  him  and  his  magicians. 

Now  in  order  that  we  may  not  be  overrun  in  like  manner  ; 
that  every  thing  may  not  be  polluted  with  the  slime  of  these 
“  frogs  of  Egypt that  Ave  may  avoid  the  abuses  which  an¬ 
ciently  compelled  the  State  so  often  to  interfere  ;  I  Avould 
respectfully  suggest  to  the  fathers  of  the  Republic,  or,  to 
whomsoever  it  may  properly  concern,  that  it  may  be  well  to 
have  erected,  and  consecrated  to  particular  spirits,  a  reason¬ 
able  number  of  public  fanes  and  temples,  at  convenient  lo¬ 
calities,  and  that  these  places  have  a  monopoly  of  the  spirit- 
business.  For  Apollo,  we  cannot  do  better,  I  think,  than  to 
take  SAvedenborg ;  and  an  excellent  Pythia,  to  begin  with, 
would  be  the  lady  Avho  enacted  Tom  Jones,  and  the  unhappy 
parson  in  Section  Thirty-nine,  (See  Spiritualism.)  For  Aes- 


93 


culapius,  let  us,  by  all  means,  liave  Hahneman ;  because  be 
could  not  only  write  prescriptions,  but  bring  his  medicines 
along  with  him  ;  for  the  politicians,  let  them  if  possible,  in¬ 
duce  Marc  Antony  to  come  down  ;  for  the - but  details 

would  be  injudicious,  perhaps  dangerous.  A  Panpsychion 
here  and  there,  Avhere  people  could  take  their  choice,  might 
complete  the  establishment. 

These  ancient  magicians  or  necromancers  were  not  them¬ 
selves  Mediums,  but  rather  what  are  now  callled  Mesmerizers 
or  Magnetizers,  operators  Avho  induced  the  magnetic  and 
clairvoyant  state,  or  caused  the  spirit  to  speak  through  the 
enchanted  Medium,  or  to  make  himself  visible,  and  show  his 
colors,  and  the  flag  he  sailed  under.  On  great  occasions,  and 
where  more  mighty  powers  were  to  be  evoked,  the  rites  were 
not  only  very  formal  and  mystic,  but  what  were  called  “  im¬ 
pious  and  horrid.”  The  sacrifices  must  be  of  coal  black 
animals,  and  sometimes  even  human  victims  were  ofiered,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  Emperors  Nero  and  Didius  (Plin.  Nat.  Hist. 
&.  Spartian.  Vit.  Did.  Jul.) 

There  were  also  mysterious  words,  or  names,  of  which  they 
made  use,  the  bare  utterance  of  which  ,w'as  sufficient  to  fix 
the  sun  in  the  heavens.  The  meaning  of  these  names  was 
altogether  unknown  to  those  who  used  them.  They  were  not 
without  meaning  however,  for  listen  to  lamblichus  :  you 
inquire,  he  says,  (in  answer  to  Porphyry)  what  ejjicacy  there 
is  in  nam,es  that  are  not  significant.  They  are  not  however, 
without  signification  ;  but  let  them  be  indeed  unknown  to  us, 
yet  to  the  gods  all  of  them  are  significant,  though  not  accor¬ 
ding  to  an  effable  mode.”  (de  Mysteriis)  He  proceeds  to  say 
however,  that  “  some  of  them  are  known  to  us,  the  explica¬ 
tions  of  which  we  receive  from  the  gods.”  Perhaps  some  of 
the  modern  shades  also  can  interpret  them,  if  any  one  is 
curious  on  that  point ;  perhaps  also  the  Judge  would  like,  or 
would  do  well,  to  make  use  of  them,  instead  of  the  name  of 
God,  for  the  purpose  of  controling  “  unprogressed”  and  im¬ 
pudent  spirits.  The  spirits  will  probably  understand  them 


94 


as  well  as  the  gods  did.  The  following  is  a  list  of  some  of 
the  most  potent  of  them,  at  the  service  of  the  Judge,  or  any 
other  gentleman,  Avhom  vulgar  spirits  may  treat  disrespect¬ 
fully  :  Meu,  Threu,  Mor,  Phor,  Teux,  Za,  Chri,  Ge,  Ze, 
Azulph,  Znon,  Threux,  Bain,  Chook.  (Alex.  Trallian.  Lib.  ii.) 
Our  apocatastatic  spirit-period  is  but  just  commencing,  and 
Ave  have,  evidently,  much  to  learn  yet.  The  use,  and  poAvers, 
of  amulets  and  talismans  are  only  just  beginning  to  be  re- 
acknoAvledged,  (Spirit  Telegraph)  but  let  the  Circles  develop 
the  mysteries  of  these  monosyllables,  and  Avear  them  upon 
their  seals,  frontlets  and  phylacteries,  if  they  would  knoAV 
their  poAver  over  spirits,  and  the  hiAVS  of  nature,  and  under¬ 
stand  the  effects  of  a  true  talisman  in  ancient  times.  Some 
such  vocable  probably  was  the  motto  in  the  ring  of  Gyges  ; 
nay,  some  one  of  these  very  names,  perhaps  Threux,  or 
Chook,  may  have  been  the  identieal  legend  on  the  Signet 
of  Solomon.” 

In  the  ancient  period  however,  just  as  in  our  OAvn,  a  polite 
and  Avell-devcloped  Medium  could  hold  conversation  with  the 
spirits  of  the  departed  at  his  pleasure,  Avithout  any  spell  or 
apparatus  of  incantations,  or  other  rites,  holy  or  profane,  ex- 
I  cept  just  to  request  the  pleasure  of  their  company.  The 
folloAving  is  a  good  specimen  of  this  kind  of  dialogue,  supe¬ 
rior  somewhat,  as  the  reader  will  notice,  in  the  character  of 
the  information  imparted  by  the  spirit,  to  its  modern  imita¬ 
tions.  Scene,  the  tomb  of  Achilles  on  the  plain  of  Troy. 

“  I,”  said  he,  (loquitur  Apollonius  Tyanensis)  “  did  not, 
like  Ulysses,  dig  a  trench,  and  evoke  the  shades  with  the  blood 
of  lambs,  in  order  to  be  admitted  to  conversation  with  Achil¬ 
les  ;  but  making  use  of  a  prayer  such  as  the  Sages  of  India 
think  proper  for  the  iiiAmcation  of  heroes,  O,  Achilles^  said  I, 
the  many  assert  that  you  are  dead,  hut  I  do  not  coincide 
xoith  that  opinion,  neither  does  Pythagoras  7ny  Alaster.  If 
we  are  right  show  us  your  shadow,  (^sigov  <ro  (fsav‘rou  laioc:) 
For  allow  me  to  say  that  my  eyes  might  he  of  much  service 
to  you,  could  you  use  them  as  ivitnesses  of  your  being  alive. 


95 


Thereupon  there  was  a  slight  quaking  of  the  mound,  and  it 
gave  forth  the  form  of  a  young  man  of  five  cubits  in  height, 
dressed  in  a  Thessalian  cloak,  but  not  exhibiting  the  haughti¬ 
ness  of  demeanor  which  some  ascribe  to  Achilles.  The 
countenance  was  severe  {5smg)  yet  not  in  a  way  to  diminish  its 
beauty,  which  seems  to  me  never  to  have  been  duly  described, 
though  Homer  said  much  concerning  it.  It  was  of  that  in¬ 
describable  character  that  every  attempt  to  pourtray  it  must 
necessarily  come  short  of  the  reality.  Appearing  at  first,  as 
I  mentioned,  of  five  cubits,  he  immediately  enlarged  himself 
to  more  than  twice  that  size,  so  that  when  fully  expanded  he 
was  twelve  cubits  in  height,  and  his  beauty  had  increased  in 
the  same  proportion.  His  hair  spoke  for  itself  that  it  had 
never  been  cut,  *  *  *  and  the  first  beard  of  youth  was  upon 
his  chin.  “  I  am  happy  to  meet  you,”  said  he,  “  for  I  have, 
this  long  time,  needed  such  a  man  as  you  are.  The  Thess¬ 
alians  have,  these  many  years  neglected  the  sepulcral  rites 
due  to  me.  Nevertheless  I  have  been  unwilling  to  take 
offence.  For  if  I  should  once  become  angry  it  would  be  worse 
for  them  than  for  the  Greeks  who  formerly  perished  in  this 
place.  Remind  them  in  a  friendly  way  of  their  neglect,  and 
that  they  ought  not  to  show  themselves  worse  than  these 
Trojans,  who  notwithstanding  I  killed  so  many  of  them,  offer 
to  me  public  sacrifices  and  fruits  of  the  season,  and  supplicate 
from  me  reconciliation  and  forgiveness,  which  I  will  never 
grant  them.  For  their  perjuries  against  me  will  not  permit 
that  Ilium  should  be  ever  restored  to  its  ancient  condition,  or 
flourish  again  as  many  subverted  cities  have  done,  but  it 
shall  forever  remain  as  if  it  were  but  yesterday  destroyed. 
Lest  now  I  subject  the  Thessalians  to  the  same  punishment, 
be  my  ambassador  to  them  in  regard  to  the  matter  I  spoke 
of.”  I  will  be  your  ambassador,  said  I,  for  the  scope  of  the 
message  is  that  they  should  take  care  of  themselves.  But  I 
desire,  0  Achilles,  a  favor  of  you.  “  Ah  !  I  understand,” 
said  he,  “you  wish  to  ask  about  Trojan  matters,  ask  therefore 
five  questions,  whatever  you  please  and  the  fates  permit.” 


96 


And  first,  I  inquired  if  he  were  buried  in  the  way  described 
by  the  poets.  “  I  am  buried,”  said  he,  “  in  a  way  very  agree¬ 
able  to  me  and  to  Patroclus,  we  were  very  intimate  in  our 
youth,  and  now  the  same  golden  urn  contains  us  both  as  if 
we  were  one.  As  to  the  lament  which  they  say  the  Muses 
and  N ereids  made  for  me ; — the  Muses  have  never  been  at 
this  place,  but  the  Nereids  do  still  occasionally  come  here.” 
I  then  inquired  if  Polyxena  were  sacrificed  to  him.  He  said 
that  story  was  true,  that  she  was  not,  however,  put  to  death 
by  the  Greeks,  but  that,  of  her  own  choice,  in  honor  of  their 
mutual  love,  she  fell  upon  a  sword  at  his  tomb.  For  the  third 
I  question  I  inquired  ;  did  Helen,  0,  Achilles,  ever  go  to  Troy  ? 

I  or  was  that  a  fiction  of  Homer?  “For  a  long  time,”  said  he, 
“  we  were  deceived,  sending  ambassadors  to  the  Trojans,  and 
I  fighting  them  on  her  account,  while  we  supposed  she  was 
I  there.  She,  in  the  mean  time,  was  in  Egypt,  whither,  she 
'  was  abducted  by  Paris.  When  we  became  aware  of  this  we 
fought  the  remainder  of  the  time  for  Troy  itself,  that  we 
might  not  go  home  in  disgrace.”  I  had  arrived  at  the  fourth 
'"question,  and  said,  I  was  astonished  that  Greece  could  have 
produced  so  many,  and  such  men,  as  Homer  marshals  against 
Troy.  “  The  barbarians,”  replied  he,  “  were  not  much  our 
inferiors,  so  prolific  was  the  whole  earth,  at  that  time,  of  the 
manly  virtues.”  (Manifestly  one  of  Plato’s  fertile  periods,  as 
Mr.  Thomas  Taylor  also  thinks,  which  terminated  when  our 
own  apocatastatic  predecessor  commenced,  at  the  “  mournful 
sound  of  the  trumpet”  in  Sylla’s  time.)  For  the  fifth  ques¬ 
tion  I  said,  how  happened  it  that  Homer  was  ignorant  of 
Palamedes  ?  or  if  he  were  not  ignorant,  why  did  he  not  speak 
of  him  in  the  poem  of  which  you  Avere  the  subject.  “  If  Pala¬ 
medes  had  not  come  to  Troy,”  ansAvered  Achilles,  “  Troy  never 
would  have  been  burnt.  Since,  hoAvever,  a  man  eminent  in 
counsel,  and  a  capital  warrior,  Avas  slain  in  order  to  please 
Ulysses,  Homer  did  not  introduce  him  into  the  poem  that  he 
might  not  be  compelled  to  blame  Ulysses.”  And  Achilles 
lamented  him  as  among  the  greatest  and  fairest,  conspicuous 


97 


in  youth  and  warlike  virtues,  in  temperance  superior  to  all 
others,  and  intimate  with  the  Muses.  “  Thou,  therefore,  0, 
Apollonius, — for  the  wise  are  dependant  in  some  sort  upon 
the  wise — look  after  his  tomb,  and  restore  the  statue  of  Pala- 
medes  which  is  shamefully  fallen  down.  It  lies  in  Aulis, 
over  against  Methymna.”  So  saying,  Avith  a  middling  smart 
flash  of  lightning,  fxs-^ia)  he  departed.”  (Phdostrat. 

Vita  Apollon.  Tyanens.  L.  iv.  c.  16.) 

Perhaps,  considering  my  promise  to  be  brief,  facts  and  phe¬ 
nomena  sufiicient  for  my  pui'pose  have  noAV  been  detailed  ; 
and  I  think  it  has  been  made  plain  that  they  Avere,  in  ancient 
times,  and  in  the  heathen  Avorld,  essentially  the  same  in  kind, 
that  they  took  place  under  essentially  the  same  circumstan¬ 
ces,  and  that  they  were  OAving  to  essentially  the  same  causes, 
as  in  the  spirit-epidemic  of  the  present  time.  Let  us  make 
out  a  catalogue  of  the  ancient  manifestations,  and  see  Avhether 
it  will  not  ansAver  as  Avell  for  the  modern  phenomena.  Under 
the  head  of  physical  manifestations  we  find  : 

Lights,  both  fixed,  and  moved. 

Halo,  encircling  the  Medium. 

Spectra,  luminous,  or  otherAvise  visible  ;  self-visible  Spirits. 

Sounds,  cries,  voices  in  the  air,  trumpets,  speaking  spec¬ 
tres,  musical  intonations,  musical  instruments  played. 

Inert  bodies  moAmd,  and  suspended  in  the  air. 

Mediums  suspended,  and  moving  in  the  air. 

The  physiological  manifestations  Avere  : 

Trance, — Magnetic  sleep, — Magnetic  insensibility. 

The  psychological,  or  physiologico-psychological,  Avere  : 

Spirit-speaking, — Spirit-Avriting. 

Speaking  unknown  languages. 

AnsAvering  mental  questions. 

Clairvoyance,  both  in  relation  to  time,  and  space. 

Magnetization,  by  the  eye,  the  hand,  by  music,  and  by  Avater. 

Spirits  answering  questions  through  Mediums,  and 
without  Mediums. 


18 


93 


The  ancient  heathen  ^Jife,  and  heathen  mind,  especially 
Q,])out  the  time  of  the  commencement  of  Christianity,  were? 
so  to  speak,  saturated  Avith  these  things.  They  constituted 
a  part  of  their  daily  faith  and  practice.  They  Avere  also 
not  unknoAvn,  though  they  had  ahvays  been  discountenanced, 
and  forbidden,  among  the  JeAvs.  And  notAvithstanding 
I  Christ  and  the  Apostles  rebuked  and  repressed  them  in 
'  every  form,  and  inculcated  principles  Avhich  tended  to  eradi- 
i  cate  them  from  the  heart  and  life  of  Christians  ;  yet,  soon 

I  after  the  Apostles’  time,  many  found  their  Avay  into  the 
Cliurch  Avho  did  not  leave  l)ehind  them  their  heathen  belief, 
or  practice,  in  regard  to  tliese  things.  Hence  the  Church 
suffered  and  Avas  annoyed,  mainly  from  the  fact,  that  some  of 
tlie  injudicious  and  unapostolic  successors  of  the  apostles 
;  attempted  to  make  use  of  some  of  these  manifestations  for 
the  interest  of  the  Church.  Tinding  it  easier  to  let  doAvn 
■  the  Church  half  Avay  to  paganism,  than  to  bring  paganism  up, 
from  its  Avholly  sensuous  forms  of  life,  even  in  its  religion,  to 
Avalk  by  faith  in  that  Avhich  Avas  invisible,  and  otherAvise 
j  Avh  dly  supersensuous.  The  Church,  therefore,  had  its  proph¬ 
etesses  and  other  clairvoyant  young  ladies,  a  sort  of  Christian 
Pythonesses,  until,  by  sad  e.xperiencc,  it  learned  to  drive 
them  back  to  tlie  heathendom  Avhich  Avas  their  proper  home. 
Alas  !  from  that  time  to  the  present,  the  Church  has  suf¬ 
fered  more  than  from  all  other  causes  together,  from  that 
^  most  easy  of  all  errors  to  fall  into,  and  the  most  difficult  to  be 
e.xtricated,  or  to  extricate  ones  self,  from  ; — the  error  of  mis- 
takhr^  the  merely  physiological  for  the  truly  spiritual.  But 
I  am  anticipating  Avhat  I  intend  to  say,  bye  and  bye,  in  a 
seperate  chapter. 


Ir 


[t  £i  c^^{n<.i5 

yyi 


S  P  Uic:^ 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Is  there  any  one,  0  Melitus,  who  acknowledging;  tliat  there  are  humane 
things,  can  yet  deny  that  there  are  any  vien  1  or,  confessing  that  there  are 
equine  things,  can  nevertheless  deny  that  there  are  any  horses  ?  If  this  cannot 
be,  then  no  man  who  acknowledges  demunial  things,  can  deny  devious. 

CUDWOKTH,  I\TKLL.hCTUAL.  SySTKiM,  p.  234. 

Now  if  there  be  no  spirit,  matter  must  of  necessity  move  itself. 

H.  More,  Immortality  of  the  Soul. 


What  was,  in  the  ancient  period,  the  explanation  given  of 
the  phenomena  we  have  been  considering  ?  how  were  they 
accounted  for  ?  In  ancient  times,  just  as  now,  there  were  three 
opinions  on  this  point.  There  were  those,  amon^3oth  heath¬ 
ens  and  Christians,  who  asserted  that  all  Avas  the  effect  of 
mere  craft  and  fraud.  Then  there  Avere  the  physicists,  or 
physiologists,  Avho  accounted  for  the  facts  by  supposing  cer¬ 
tain  arcane  laAvs  of  Nature  and  of  the  nervous  system.  Then 
the  spiritists,  Avho  were  as  positiAm  and  dogmatical  at  that 
time,  as  they  are  at  present.  And  then  there  Avas  a  fourth 
class,  as  noAV,  who  declined  to  have  any  decided  opinion.  Of 
those  holding  these  various  mental  relations  to  the  phenomena 
the  belieAmrs  in  the  spirits  Avere  by  far  the  most  numerous. 
These  included  the  great  masses  of  the  people  in  all  coun- 


100 


tries.  Indeed,  to  doubt,  in  regard  to  many  of  these  manifes¬ 
tations,  was  to  be  an  infidel,  in  the  most  opprobrious  sense, 
and  to  deny  the  religion  of  one’s  country.  Hence  the  popular 
hatred  against  the  Epicureans,  who,  as  a  sect,  held  that  the 
gods,  if  there  were  gods,  like  Gallio,  “  cared  for  none  of  these 
things  and  as  for  the  spirits  of  dead  men,  there  were  none, 
and  therefore  they  were  not  likely  to  act  or  to  speak  with  or 
without  Mediums.  These  opinions  excited  so  much  odium 
that  the  Epicureans  were  often  driven  from  the  temples  ;  for 
the  ancient  spirits  and  their  friends  had  the  same  antipathy 
toAvards  the  incredulous  as  their  modern  successors.  Yet 
some,  even  of  these,  probably  believed  in  the  existence  and 
influence  of  evil  spirits  ;  Avith  their  great  progenitor  Demo¬ 
critus,  Avho  seems  to  have  been  himself  a  sort  of  Medium,  or 
experimenter  upon  others,  in  a  private  way.  (Plutarch,  ut 
supra,  &  Plin.  Nat.  Ilist.  Lib.  xxx.)  Let  us  look  at  some  of 
the  lanfjuao-e  of  the  unbelievers.  Hear  Cicero,  Avho  hoAvever, 
Avas  not  an  Epicurean. 

“  Neither  do  I  reckon  that  any  faith  ought  to  be  had  in  the 
prophets  of  Mars,  or  in  the  revelations  of  Apollo,  (the  res¬ 
ponses  of  the  Pythia,)  some  of  Avhich  are  the  merest  fiction, 
some,  inconsiderate  hobble,  (hoAV  perfectly  apocatastatic  !) 
never  of  any  authority  Avith  a  man  of  even  moderate  capacity. 
*  *  *  0,  sacred  Apollo,  Chrysippus  filled  a  Avhole  volume 

with  your  oracles,  partly  fiilse,  in  my  opinion,  and  partly,  by 
accident,  true, — as  happens  in  all  treatises,  for  the  most  part, 
— partly  equivocal  and  obscure,  so  that  the  Interpreter  needs 
to  be  interpreted,  and  the  lot  itself  needs  to  be  referred  to  the 
lot.’,  (De  Divinatione,  lib.  ii.) 

In  another  part  of  the  same  treatise,  speaking  of  those 
who  accountb  1  for  the  inferiority  of  the  Delphic  Oracle  in  his 
time  to  its  former  fame,  by  supposing  that  the  vapor  from  the 
cavern  had  become  diminished  in  quantity,  o  r  deteriorated  in 
quality,  (probably  its  varying  reputation  was  owing  to  the 
fact  that  Bometimes  the  Pythia  happened  to  be  a  “  well  de- 


101 


velopecl,”  and  at  others  an  “  imperfectly-developed,”  Medium,) 
he  says  :  ‘‘  I  know  not  how  it  is  that  these  superstitious,  and 
all  but  fjinatical  philosophers,  seem  to  desire  nothing  so  innch 
as  that  they  may  be  made  fools  of  They  will  rather  suppose 
that  to  have  become  extinct,  which  if  it  had  ever  been,  must 
have  been  ahvays,  than  not  believe  that  which  is  altogether 
incredible.”  (Idem  Ibidem.) 

Some  of  the  early  Christians  also  were  incredulous  in  re¬ 
gard  to  the  agency  of  spirits  in  causing  the  phenomena,  al¬ 
though  most  of  them  retained  their  former  spiritism,  but  after 
their  conversion,  believed  that  the  spirits  concerned  in  these 
manifestations,  were  all  evil  spirits.  The  Christian  unbeliev¬ 
ers  Avere  sometimes  severe  upon  such  men  as  our  friend  lam- 
’  Tchus,  and  other  operators. 


“  AAvay  with  your  Egyptian  mysteries,  and  Etruscan  ne¬ 
cromancy.  (conversing  with  the  spirits  of  the  dead,)  These, 
undoubtedly,  are  the  impious  arts,  of  infidel  men  (pagans)  for 
the  purposes  of  deception,  invented  for  pure  unmingled  fraud.” 
(Clemens  Alexandrinus,  Stromat.  Lib.  iii.) 

“  I  could  adduce  many  things  from  Aristotle  and  the  Peri¬ 
patetics  subversive  of  faith  in  the  Pythia  and  the  other  ora¬ 
cles  ;  and  shoAV  that  the  Greeks  themselves  had  no  confidence 
in  them,  even  in  the  most  famous  of  them.  But  if  Ave  admit 
that  they  Avere  not  the  mere  craft  and  tricks  of  men  ;  if  Ave 
concede  that  they  Avere  really  oracles,  it  does  not  necessarily 
folloAV  that  any  divinity  presided  over  them,  but  rather,  cer¬ 
tain  Avicked  Djemons,  and  spirits  hostile  to  the  human  race.” 
(Origen  contra  Celsum,  Lib.  vii.) 

Those  Avho  believed,  or  suspected,  that  the  facts  Avere  ex¬ 
plainable  Avithout  the  agency  of  spirits,  and  Avho  admitted 
that  they  Avere  more  than  mere  fraud,  did  not,  however,  at¬ 
tempt  to  point  out  very  definitely  how,  or  by  Avhat  hiAvs  of 
nature,  they  Avere  to  be  explained.  So,  I  believe,  those  of 
parallel  opinion  at  present,  throAV  a  very  obscure  and  uncer¬ 
tain  light  upon  the  subject,  when  they  attempt  to  give  us  the 


102 


law  of  it ;  just  enough  to  make  the  darkness  visible.  They 
speak  of  abnormal  states  of  the  nervous  system,  and  conta¬ 
gious  sympathies,  ami  electricity,  and  galvanism,  magnetism, 
and  odj  in  a  very  odd  way  ;  for  while  they  assure  us  that 
these  are  sufficient  to  account  for  the  facts,  they  do  not  in¬ 
dicate  to  us  how^  by  them,  any  of  the  facts  are  to  be  account¬ 
ed  for.  The  ancients,  I  think,  conjectured  more  philosophi¬ 
cally  than  we  ;  except  where  we,  not  merely  apocatastatically, 
but  very  phigiaristically,  bring  forvrard  the  identical  dogmas 
of  the  ancients  as  our  own. 

“  Concerning  the  causes  of  divination,  it  is  dubious  whether 
a  god,  an  angel,  or  a  demon,  or  some  other  power,  is  present 
in  manifestations.  Or  does  the  soul  assert  and  imae-ine  these 
things,  or  are  they,  as  some  think,  the  passion  of  the  sonl, 
excited  from  small  incentives  7  Or  is  a  certain  mixed  form 
of  subsistence  produced  from  our  soul  and  divine  inspiration 
externally  derived  ”  (Porphyry  to  the  Egyptian  Ane1)o.) 

Another,  who  seems  to  have  investigated  the  subject  pretty 
carefully,  after  acknowledging  that  the  “  manifestations”  are 
under  the  general  superintendence  of  certain  “  mediate  pow¬ 
ers”  (medias  potestates)  offers  at  the  same  time,  the  folloAving 
conjectural  natural  explanation  of  them. 

“  I  am  however,  inclined  to  think,  (quin  et  illud  inecum  re¬ 
pute)  that  the  human  mind,  and  especially  the  ingenuous  mind 
of  the  jmung,  can,  by  the  soothing  or  evoking  power  (evoca- 
mento)  of  song,  or  by  the  lulling  influence  of  odors,  be 
brought  into  a  state  analogous  to  that  of  sleep,  (soporari)  and 
be,  as  it  were,  driven  into  an  oblivion  of  things  present ;  and 
so,  being,  for  a  short  time,  removed  from  the  remembrance  of 
the  body,  it  is  restored,  and  returns,  to  its  natural,  that  is, 
divine  and  immortal  relations,  and  thereby  becomes  prescient 
of  the  future.”  (clairvoyant)  (Apuleius  de  Magia  Oratio.) — 
This  is  evoking  the  spirit  out  of  the  Medium  instead  of  invo¬ 
king  a  spirit  into  him  ;  yet  it  looks  like  an  explanation  of  the 
phenomena. 


103 


^  “  The  liuman  mind  draws,  and  is  replenished  from  the  di¬ 
vine,  and  since  all  things  are  full  and  saturated  with  a  divine 
sense  and  intellect,  it  follows  that  the  human  mind  from  its  re¬ 
lation  of  kindred  (cognatione)  with  the  divine,  may  be  moved 
in  sympathy,  or  unison  therewith,  (commoveri)  Persons  in 
the  waking  state,  however,  are  busy  about  the  necessities  of 
life,  and  so  no  longer  partake  of  the  divine  consciousness, 
impeded  by  corporeal  restraints.  But  some  few  there  are 
who  can  evoke  themselves  out  of  the  body,  and  are  rapt  away 
into  a  knowledge  of  things  divine.”  (Cicero  de  Divinatione, 
Lib.  i.) 

This  is  as  good,  as  the  all-pervading  magnetic  aura  which  is 
capalde  of  becoming  a  medium  of  universal  knowledge  to  all 
souls  which  can  get  out  of  the  opake  and  impervious  body,  in¬ 
to  it. 

“  Wherefore  those,  whose  souls,  contemning  the  body,  fly 
forth,  and  make  excursions  without,  doubtless,  excited,  and 
inflamed,  by  a  certain  ardor,  behold  the  things  which  they 
communicate  in  the  vaticinating  state.  And  such  minds 
which  do  not  inhere  in  the  bod}^,  are  thus  excited  (to  go  forth) 
by  many  things  ;  as  in  the  case  of  those  who  are  thus  exci¬ 
ted  by  a  certain  sound  of  voices,  and  by  Phrygian  chants.” 
(Idem  Ibidem.) 

The  following,  however,  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  e.xpla- 
/  nation  of  modern  manifestations,  since  it  does  not  seem  to  im- 
’  ply  the  necessity  of  going  out  of  the  body  in  order  to  come 
eii  rapport  with  the  soul  of  the  world  as  the  medium  of  com¬ 
mon  or  universal  consciousness. 

“  This  being  posited  and  conceded  that  there  is  a  certain  di¬ 
vine  energy  which  includes  within  itself  the  human  life,  it  is 
not  difficult  to  conjecture  a  way  to  account  for  such  things  (in 
relation  to  divination,  ai  gury  &c)  as  Ave  do  actually  see  to 
take  place.  For  even  for  choosing  the  proper  animal  for  sac¬ 
rifice,  (for  instance,  so  that  the  omens  Avould  correspond  to  the 
future  event,)  the  directing  agency  may  be  a  certain  sen- 


\  f 

•S-  t/U'  M.,  Pvvt  t  e  I. 


104 


tieut  power  (vis  qiiasdani  sentiens)  which  pervades  the  ichole 
laiiverseP  (Idem  Ibidem.) 

Here  is  a  sort  of  perceptive  fluid  abundant  enough  for 
every  body  to  partake  of,  and  as  convenient  as  od,  or  as  the 
“  panthea  principle  !  !”  a  kind  of  universal  sensorium,  or  sea 
of  sense,  though  it  does  not  appear  how  its  undulations  are  to 
come  in  contact  and  mingle,  with  the  thinking  fluid  of  indi¬ 
viduals,  except  in  the  case  of  the  crack-brained.  For  the 
supposition  that  this  sentient  principle  is  so  subtile  as  to  pass 
through  all  sorts  of  craniums  would  prove  too  much, — we 
should  all  be  clairvoyant. 

These  ancient  explanitory  theories,  however,  were  brought 
forward  Avith  great  modesty,  and  with  much  more  of  diffidence 
than  dogmatism.  Not  so  the  Spiritists, — they  spoke  Avith 
undoubting  confidence,  sure  that  the  evidence  for  the  correct¬ 
ness  of  their  vicAv  of  the  subject  did  not  flill  short  of  demon¬ 
stration.  With  the  confidence  of  truth  ;  probably  their  suc¬ 
cessors  Avill  say.  But  unluckily  for  that  kind  of  confirmation 
of  their  opinion,  the  believers  in  the  theory  of  fraud  and  col¬ 
lusion  and  self-deception  Avere  equally  confident.  Some  of 
the  believers  hoAVCver,  as  at  present,  spoke  doubtingly  enough. 

“  Whether  these  things  Avere  true,  and  in  Avhat  degree,  I 
dispute  not ;  men,  indeed,  accounted  them,  and  believed  in 
them  as  true ;  insomuch  that  those  skilful  in  divination  were 
held  in  such  esteem  as  even  to  be  thought  AA’orthy  to  reign  ; 
— the  men  namely  avIio  make  knoAvn  to  us  the  divine  precepts 
and  monitions,  both  Avhile  liAung  and  after  they  are  deadP — 
(Strabo,  Geograph.  Lib.  xvi.) 

It  Avas  the  opinion  of  Pythagoras  “  that  the  regions  of  the 
air  are  filled  Avith  spirits,  Avho  are  demons  and  heroes  ;  that 
from  them  come  all  kinds  of  diAunation,  omens  <fec  ;  that  all 
kinds  of  divination  are  to  be  held  in  honor.”  (Vita  Pythag. 
apud  Diogin.  Laeit.) 

“  There  are  collections  of  excellent  arguments  of  the  phi¬ 
losophers  in  favor  of  the  reality  of  divination.  Among  whom, 


105 


that  I  may  speak  of  the  most  ancient,  the  Colophonian  Xeno¬ 
phanes  alone,  of  those  who  admitted  the  existence  of  the  gods, 
wholly  rejected  divination.  All  the  rest,  with  the  exception 
of  Epicurus  babbling  about  the  nature  of  the  gods,  approved 
it,  but  not  by  the  same  methods.  For  while  Socrates  and  the 
Socratics,  Zeno  and  his  successors,  the  old  Academy  and  the 
Peripatetics  consenting,  remained  in  the  faith  of  the  ancient 
philosophers  ;  the  well-known  views  of  Pythagoras,  and  of 
Democritus,  adding  great  weight  to  this  opinion  ;  Dicmarchus 
the  Peripatetic  rejected  all  other  modes  of  divination,  but 
retained  that  by  dreams,  and  by  fury  ; — furor,  the  “  trance  or 
interior  state,”  which  seems  to  have  been  very  energetic  an¬ 
ciently,  hence  called  rage,  and  fury.  This  was  the  method 
of  the  Sibyls,  who  were  said  to  speak  “  with  insane  mouth 
of  the  Pythia ;  of  the  enchanted ;  and  of  those  who  under 
the  influence  of  the  theurgic  art  “  energize  enthusiastically.” 

“  As  to  what  was  said,  however,  in  regard  to  the  dtemons 
((iaifxovsg)  forsaking  and  deserting  the  Oracles,  so  that  they  lie 
idle,  like  the  unused  tools  of  the  mechanic  ; — there  is  involved 
here  a  different  and  more  important  question,  namely,  by  what 
powers  and  methods  are  these  spirits  enabled  to  excite  in  per¬ 
sons  of  both  sexes,  enthusiasm,  prophetic  rage,  and  a  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  future.  For  we  cannot  attribute  the  silence  of 
the  Oracles  to  the  departure  of  the  spirits  unless  we  under¬ 
stand  how  by  their  presence  they  rendered  them  vocal. 

^  “  Do  you  think  then,”  rejoined  Ammonius,  “that  the  siurits 
are  anything  else  than  Avandering  Souls,  “  air-clothed,”  as 
Hesiod  says  7  For  my  part,  I  am  of  opinion,  that,  just  as  a 
man  acting  tragedy  or  comedy  differs  from  himself ;  so,  a  Soul 
wearing  the  dress  of  this  body  differs  from  itself  There  is, 
therefore,  nothing  incredible  in  the  supposition  that  (unem¬ 
bodied)  Souls  m  communication  loith  (embodied)  souls  can 
impart  to  them  a  knowledge  of  the  future,  as  we  make  knoAvn 
to  each  other  many  things  by  looks  gestures  &c.,  without  the 
use  of  the  voice.” 


14 


106 


“  But  if,”  said  I,  “  the  souls  which  are  disembodied,  or 
which  never  have  been  embodied,  are  daemons,  and  terrestrial 
guardians  of  mortal  men,  as  you  and  Hesiod  suppose  ;  why 
do  we  deprive  souls  in  the  body  of  that  faculty  by  which  dae¬ 
mons  are  naturally  enabled  to  foreknow  and  make  known  fu¬ 
ture  events  ?  For  it  is  not  likely  that  souls  on  leaving  the 
body  acquire  any  new  properties  or  endowments  which  they 
did  not  possess  before,  but  that  they  always  possessed  them, 
though  of  inferior  quality  while  mixed  with  the  body.  As 
the  sun  does  not  appear  in  its  splendor  when  behind  the 
clouds,  but,  though  always  the  same,  yet  is  for  us  obscured  or 
invisible  ;  so  the  soul  does  not  then  first  acquire  its  power  of 
divination  when  it  emerges  from  the  body  as  from  a  cloud,  but 
this  faculty  is  already  in  its  possession,  however  darkened  and 
rendered  imperfect,  by  being  commixed  and  mingled  with  a 
mortal  nature.”  (Plutarch.  De  Oraculorum  Defectu.) 

This  is  a  little  pro,  and  a  little  con.,  precisely  like  a  modern 
discussion  of  the  same  subject.  It  would  seem  likely,  how¬ 
ever,  on  the  whole,  that  the  embodied  soul  may,  by  certain 
excitations,  or  evocations,  be  enabled  to  resume  pretty  fully, 
its  inherent  and  natural,  though  ordinarily  latent  power  of 
prescience. 

But  the  most  positive  witness  on  the  other  side,  and  prop¬ 
erly  so,  as  he  testifies  of  his  own  experience  and  observation, 
is  our  Expert,  lamblichus.  To  give  his  evidence  in  full, 
would  be  to  quote  the  whole  treatise  concerning  the  Mysteries 
of  the  Egyptians.  A  few  extracts  however,  will  be  sufficient 
for  my  purpose.  In  answer  to  some  doubting  queries  he 
says  : 

“  The  greatest  remedy  for  all  such  doubts  is  this,  to  know 
the  principle  of  divination,  that  it  neither  originates  from 
bodies,  nor  from  the  passions  about  bodies,  nor  from  a  certain 
nature,  and  the  powers  about  nature,  nor  from  any  human  ap¬ 
paratus,  or  the  habits  pertaining  to  it.  But  neither  does  it 
originate  from  a  certain  art,  externally  acquired.  For  the 
whole  authority  of  it  pertains  to  the  gods,  (vernacule,  spirits) 


107 


and  is  imparted  by  them.  *  *  *  nor  in  short,  is  it  a  hu¬ 

man  work,  but  is  divine  and  snip er natural,  and  is  super- 
nally  sent  to  us  from  the  heavensP  (De  Mysteriis.) 

This  is  quite  satisfactory.  It  is  always  refreshing  to  find 
a  man  who  has  an  opinion  of  his  own, — so  vanburenish  is  the 
majority  of  men  on  important  subjects — such  positive  people, 
however,  as  in  the  present  instance,  are  apt  to  deal  more  in 
assertions  than  reasons. 

Here  is  a  good  specimen  of  an  ancient  Medium  in  a  theo- 
pemptic  trance,  or  in  the  “  interior  state.” 

“  And  sometimes,  indeed,  an  invisible  and  incorporeal 
spirit  surrounds  the  recumbents,  so  as  not  to  be  perceived  by 
the  sight,  hut  by  a  certein  other  co-sensation  and  intelli¬ 
gence.  (how  exact  our  apocatastatic  iterations  !)  The  en¬ 
trance  of  this  spirit  also  is  accompanied  with  a  noise,  (does 
he  rap  when  he  comes  in,  as  our  spirits  do  ?)  and  he  diffuses 
himself  on  all  sides  Avithout  any  contact,  and  effects  admirable 
works  conducive  to  the  liberation  of  the  passions  of  the  soul 
and  body.  But  sometimes  a  bright  and  tranquil  light  shines 
forth,  by  Avhich  the  sight  of  the  eyes  is  detained,  and  which 
occasions  them  to  become  closed,  though  they  were  before 
open.  The  other  senses  however,  are  in  a  vigilant  state,  and 
in  a  certain  respect  have  a  co-sensation  of  the  light  unfolded 
by  the  gods,  and  the  recumbents  hear  what  the  gods  say.” — 
(Clairvoyant,  and  clairaudient.)  (Idem  Ibidem.) 

“  If  the  presence  of  the  fire  of  the  gods,  and  a  certain  in¬ 
effable  species  of  light  (od)  externally  accede  to  him  who  is 
possessed,  and  if  they  Avholly  fill  him,  have  dominion  over, 
and  circularly  comprehend  him  on  all  sides,  so  that  he  is  not 
able  to  exert  any  one  energy  of  his  OAvn,  what  sense,  or  ani¬ 
madversion,  or  appropriate  projection  of  intellect,  can  there 
be  in  him  who  receives  a  divine  fire  ?  What  human  motion, 
likewise,  can  then  intervene,  or  what  human  reception  of 
passion  or  extasy,  or  of  aberration  of  the  phantasy,  or  of  any¬ 
thing  else  of  the  like  kind  can  take  place  ?”  (Avhy,  plainly,  in 
that  case,  none)  (Idem  Ibidem.) 


108 


“  But  it  is  necessary  to  investigate  the  causes  of  divine 
mania.  And  these  are  the  illuminations  proceeding  from  the 
gods,  the  spirits  imparted  by  them,  and  the  all-perfect  domi¬ 
nation  of  divinity,  which  comprehends,  indeed,  everything  in 
us,  but  exterminates  entirely^  our  own  yroyer  consciousness 
and  motion.  This  divine  possession,  also,  emits  words  which 
are  not  understood  by  those  that  utter  them ;  for  they  pro¬ 
nounce  them,  as  it  is  saul,  “  with  an  insane  mouth,”  and  are 
Avholly  subservient,  and  entirely  yield  themselves  to  the  ener¬ 
gy  of  the  predominating  god.”  [Idem  Ibidem.] 

Hear  also  how  readily  he  can  silence  objectors  against  Avhat 
they  are  pleased  to  think  undignified  and  unAVorthy  manifesta¬ 
tions,  such  as  ‘‘  divining  from  meal,”  moving  about  inanimate 
bodies,  (scilicet,  tables  and  such-like.) 

“  If,  also,  the  poAver  of  the  gods  proceeds  in  pre-manifesta¬ 
tion  as  far  as  to  things  inanimate,  such  as  pebble  stones,  rods, 
yieces  of  ivood,  tj'c.,  this  very  thing  is  most  admirable,  *  *  * 
because  it  iniyarts  soul  to  things  inanimate^  motion  to 
things  immoveable,  and  makes  all  things  to  partake  of  rea¬ 
son,  and  to  be  defined  by  the  measures  of  intellection,  tho’ 
possessing  no  portion  of  reason  from  themselves.  *  *  *  * 
For  as  the  divinity  sometimes  makes  some  stupid  man  to 
speak  wisely,  (a  Medium  for  instance)  through  Avhich  it  be¬ 
comes  manifest  to  every  one,  that  this  not  a  certain  human^ 
but  a  divine  Avork ;  thus,  also,  he  reveals  through  things  de¬ 
prived  of  knoAvledge,  (tables,  for  instance,)  conceptions  which 
^  precede  all  knoAvledge.  And  at  the  same  time  he  declares  to 
men  that  the  signs  Avhich  are  exhibited  are  w^orthy  of  belief, 
and  that  they  are  superior  to  nature.  Through  them,  also 
he  inserts  in  us  Avisdom.”  (Idem  Ibidem.) 

^  Here  now  are  reasons  for,  and  an  explanation  of  the  causes 
(  of,  the  “  physical  manifestations,”  much  more  intelligible  than 
any  non-spiritist,  ancient  or  modern,  has  given,  or  in  my  opin¬ 
ion,  can  give.  And  what  matters  it  how  trifling  the  phenom¬ 
ena,  provided  they  are  “  superior  to  nature,”  and  so  manifest 
the  power  of  the  deity.  Why  should  not  a  table  speak  fool- 


109 


islily  ?  the  miracle  consists  in  its  speaking,  and  not  in  what 
it  says.  Anciently,  however,  as  is  plain  from  the  above  ex¬ 
tract,  “  things  deprived  of  knowledge”  spake  more  wisely  than 
at  present,  more  wisely  than  they  are  likely  to,  at  present,  for 
we  have  the  highest  modern  authority  for  saying  that  “it  is 
an  unwarrantable  thing  to  look  for  instruction  much  superior 
to  the  mental  development  of  the  Medium.”  (The  Present 
Age  &  Inner  Life,  p.  72.) 

Now  the  mental  development  of  a  table,  at  least,  of  ordi¬ 
nary  tables,  must  be  somewhat  in  the  incipient  stage  ;  certain 
dining  tables,  card  tables,  and  council  tables,  perhaps,  may 
speak  as  well,  or  even  better,  than  some  of  those  who  sit  at 
them.  But  I  am  interrupting  the  witness.  Speaking  of  some 
of  the  most  distinguished  of  the  public  Mediums,  of  those 
who  gave  the  oracular  responses  of  the  gods,  our  “  Expert”  is 
very  definite  and  explicit. 

“  But  this  divine  illumination  is  immediately  present,  and 
iises  the  prophetess  as  an  instrument ;  she  neither  being  any 
longer  mistress  of  herself,  nor  capable  of  attending  to  what 
she  says,  nor  perceiving  where  she  is.  Hence  after  predic¬ 
tion  she  is  scarcely  able  to  recover  herself”  (Idem  Ibi¬ 
dem.] 

Here  is  a  plenary  inspiration  not  ashamed  to  assert  itself ; 
quite  unlike  our  apologetic  modern  “  not  much  superior  to  the 
mental  development  of  the  Medium,”  forsooth  !  The  fact  of 
the  character  of  modern  inspiration  is  not,  I  think,  to  be  de¬ 
nied  ;  it  rests  upon  the  very  highest  authority,  that  of  a 
modern  Expert ;  but  then,  cui  bono  ?  what  is  the  use  of  such 
inspiration  ?  Anciently  it  was  the  spirit,  and  nothing  but 
the  spirit  who  spoke,  the  Medium  furnished  nothing  except 
the  vocal  organs,  hence  some  instruction  worthy  of  the  teach¬ 
er  was  reasonably  to  be  expected,  for, 

“  She  possesses  the  inspiration  of  the  god  shining  into  the 
pure  seat  of  her  soul,  becomes  full  of  an  unrestrained  affla¬ 
tus,  and  receives  the  divine  presence  in  a  perfect  manner,  and 
without  any  impediment.”  [Idem  Ibidem.] 


no 


So  also  the  Pythia  was  a  mere  instrument,  in  the  most 
literal  and  fullest  sense. 

“  And  when,  indeed,  fire  ascending  from  the  mouth  of  the 
cavern  circularly  invests  her  in  collected  abundance,  she  be¬ 
comes  filled  from  it  with  a  divine  splendour.  But  when  she 
places  herself  upon  the  seat  of  the  god,  she  becomes  co-adap- 
ted  to  his  stable  prophetic  power  ;  and  from  both  these  pre¬ 
paratory  operations  she  becomes  wholly  possessed  by  the  god. 
And  then,  indeed,  he  is  present  with,  and  illuminates  her  in  a 
separate  manner  |  and  is  different  from  the  fire,  the  vapor 
which  ascends  with  it  from  the  cavern,  the  proper  seat,  and  in 
short,  from  all  the  visible  apparatus  of  the  place,  whether 
physical  or  sacred.”  [Idem  Ibidem.] 

He  is  not  only  very  positive  in  his  direct  assertions  of  the 
agency  of  spirits  in  the  manifestations,  but  shows  (to  his  own 
satisfaction)  that  all  other  theories  are  quite  insufiicient  to  ac¬ 
count  for  them. 


£-^laA  Cc-w*-  cjt: 


CHAPTER  X. 

Poll.  Thou  hast  even  now  spoke,  and  that  truly,  that  spacious  is  the  Sea 
of  various  opinions  concei'ning  these  Spirits ;  for  so  indeed  it  is ;  but  what 
Port  thou  touchest  at,  I  desire  thee  it  may  not  seem  troublesom  to  thee  to  tell 
me. 

Cast.  That  which  thou  desirest,  I  conceive  to  be  this ;  I  hold  that  these 
tumultuous  Spirits  are  mere  images  of  Satan ;  which  are  not  to  be  feared, 
neither  is  there  any  credit  to  be  given  to  their  answers. 

A  Discourse  op  the  Nature  op  Spirits. 


Among  those  who  agreed  in  referring  the  manifestations  to 
the  agency  of  spirits,  there  was  anciently  the  same  difference 
of  opinion  as  at  present,  in  regard  to  the  character  of  the 
spirits  ;  there  was  also  the  same  agreement  of  opinion  as  now 
in  regard  to  their  character.  They  all  agreed  in  believing 
that  there  were  evil  spirits  concerned  in  the  production  of 
some  of  the  phenomena  ;  but  they  differed  on  the  question 
whether  they  were  all  evil ; — some  asserting  as  now,  that 
they  were  all  evil  spirits,  and  others  holding,  as  at  present, 
that  they  were  part  good  and  part  evil.  There  has  been, 
however,  since  that  time,  some  “  progress”  in  the  mental  de¬ 
velopment  of  this  last  class  in  regard  to  the  definition  of 
“  evil.”  Anciently  an  evil  spirit  was  very  uncivilly  called  a 
wicked  spirit,  but  now,  such  has  been  the  “  progress”  of  civil- 


112 


izatlon,  wliicli  “  emollit  animos  nec  sinit  esse  feros,”  that  they 
are  politely  denominated  unfortunate,  undeveloped,  “unpro¬ 
gressed,”  or  sometimes,  roguish,  or  mischievous,  spirits.  But 
anciently  there  was  supposed  to  he, — except  by  the  Epicu¬ 
reans  “  babbling  about  the  nature  of  the  gods” — a  difference 
in  kind  between  physical,  or  physiological,  and  moral  relations 
— (I  should  have  said  spiritual  relations,  but  spiritual^  that 
word  which  used  to  stir  one’s  deepest  consciousness,  has  come 
to  be  an  adjective  which  is  used  to  qualify  and  define  some¬ 
thing  relating  to  those  most  unspiritual  of  all  disembodied,  or 
unembodied  agents  who  inspire  very  foolish  people  with  that 
which  is  “not  much  superior  to  their  own  mental  development.” 
Let  us  therefore,  as  many  as  continue  to  believe  in  the  being 
of  anything  truly  spiritual,  which  is  not  merely  a  more  dif¬ 
fuse  and  attenuated  lorm  of  eternal  and  universal  Matter,  and 
in  truly  spiritual  relations  ;  for  the  sake  of  preserving  for 
our  own  use,  a  venerable  and  sacred  word — let  us,  I  say,  call 
the  disembodied,  or  transembodied,  or  less  cumbrously  em¬ 
bodied  gentlemen  and  ladies  who  study  French  and  music  in 
the  spheres,  and  appear  among  us  in  celestial  velvet  and  blue 
ribbons,  (See  Supernal  Theology) — this  is  a  very  parenthetic 
and  troublesome  sentence — let  us,  I  say,  call  these  supernal 
persons — pneumatoid  ?  psychoid  ?  spiritoid  ?  these  would  be 
proper  and  etymologically  correct  (except  that  the  last  is  not 
very  etymological)  as  indicating  something  spirit-like,  or  part 
spirit  and  part  matter,  but  euphony  will  not  permit  the  use  of 
them — let  us,  then,  I  say,  call  these  persons  ^irital  peo£l_e, 
and  the  new  development,  the  sjnrital  development,  or  spirit¬ 
ism^ — now,  however,  our  modern  Epicureans,  Epicurean  pro 
tanto,  such  has  been  their  “  progress,”  have  discovered  that 
man  has  no  relations  different  in  kind  from  those  of  a  tree  or 
an  animal,  (Great  Harmonia  Vol.  ii.  p.  230)  or,  as  I  should 
say,  another  animal,  and  of  course,  no  responsibilities  differ¬ 
ent  from  those  of  another  animal.  Both  alike  are  under,  and 
responsible  to,  the  laws  of  Nature  which  are  the  involuntary 
attributes  of  the  deity ^  as  the  blood  circulates  without  voli- 


113 


i 


tion.  (The  Present  Age  &  Inner  Life,  p.  29)  Now  it  is 
plainly  inconceivable  that  a  tree,  or  an  animal,  though  they 
may  be  evil  or  good  in  a  certain  sense,  should  have  spiritual 
relations,  and  responsibilities,  according  to  the  old  meaning  of 
the  word,  even  so  it  is  impossible  that  the  spirital  people, 
whether  in  the  first  or  any  other  sphere,  where  their  involun¬ 
tary  god  circulates,  should  have  such ;  hence,  with  praise¬ 
worthy  consistency,  that  “jewel,”  they  have  all  ceased, — the 
most  flagitious  among  them  included, — to  be  ivicked,  and  are 
simply  unfortunate,  like  a  tree  in  a  poor  soil,  or  undeveloped, 
like  a  lean  beast  for  want  of  provender  ;  not  having  come  in 
contact  with  appropriate  pabulum  ;  but  having  fallen  rather 
upon  old  orthodoxy,  and  other  dry  crusts  of  conservatism, 
which  bring  leanness  ; — hence,  as  I  was  saying,  among  the 
modern  evil  spirits  there  are  no  wicked  ones  ;  that  is,  accor¬ 
ding  to  spirital  definition.  But  I  was  about  to  exhibit  the 
ancient  belief  in  regard  to  the  character  of  the  spirits. 

“  There  are  some  who  suppose  that  there  is  a  certain  obe- 
( dient  genus  of  daemons,  which  is  naturally  fraudulent,  omni¬ 
form  and  various,  and  which  assumes  the  appearance  of  gods 
and  good  daemons,  and  the  souls  of  the  deceased  ;  and  that 
through  these  everything  which  appears  to  be  either  good  or 
evil  is  effected.”  (Porphyry  to  the  Egyptian  Anebo.) 

Truly  “  there  are  some  who  suppose”  identically  the  same 
thing  at  the  present  day,  in  order  to  account  for  identically 
the  same  effects.  But  the  same  author  asserts  that  to  be  true 
which  he  says  some  suppose. 

“  By  the  contrary  kind  of  daemons  all  prestigious  effects  are 
produced.  They  constantly  cause  apparitions  and  spectral 
appearances,  skilful  by  deceptions  which  excite  amazement  to 
impose  upon  men.  It  is  their  very  nature  to  lie ;  because 
they  wish  to  be  considered  gods  ;  and  the  presiding  power 
among  them  to  be  taken  for  the  supreme  god.”  (Porphyr.  ap- 
ud  Eusebium.) 

It  must  needs  require  great  discrimination  and  knowledge 

of  spirit  character,  one  would  think,  to  deal  safely  with  such 

15 


r. 


114 


spirits  as  tliese.  That  this  was,  however,  the  real  character 
of  many  of  those  in  the  hahit  of  coininunicating  with  men,  is 
acknowledged  by  still  higher  authority. 

“  Evil  spirits,  after  a  phantastic  and  fallacious  method, 
/Simulate  the  presence  of  the  gods  and  good  demons,  and 
therefore  conimand  their  'worshippers  to  he  just,  in  order 
that  they  themselves  may  seem  to  he  good  like  the  gods. 
Since,  however,  they  are  hy  nature  evil,  they  willingly  induce 
'  evil  when  invoked  to  do  so,  and  prompt  us  to  evil.  These  are 
,  they  who  in  the  delivery  of  Oracles  lie  and  deceive  ;  and  ad¬ 
vise  and  accomplish  base  things.  Moreover,  the  nature  of 
evil  dmmons  is  inconstant,  unstable,  inconsistent  with  itself, 
advising  now  one  thing  and  now  another.”  (lamblichus,  de 
abditis  rerum  causis.) 

Now  some  of  our  own  spirits  are  the  exact  apocatastatic 
counterpart  of  these,  spiritists  themselves  being  witnesses, 
(See  Supernal  Theology,  &  Spiritualism)  if  they  are  not  rath¬ 
er  identically  the  same  spirits,  and  by  what  tests  and  criteria. 
Gentlemen  Spiritists,  are  you  to  distinguish  these  from  the 
honest  guardian  angels  who  inspire  their  proteges  in  a  way 
“  not  much  superior  to  their  own  mental  development  How 
do  you  know  that  they  do  not  seem  to  obey  your  forms  of  ad¬ 
juration,  only  that  they  may  dupe  you  the  more  thoroughly  ? 
Do  you  not  find  that  there  is  no  safety,  except  in  availing 
yourselves  of  the  more  mature  experience  of  your  apocatas¬ 
tatic  predecessors?  Cabbala,  mystic,  monosyllabic  spells, 
amulets,  talismans  ! — must  you  not  return  to  these,  as  indeed 
you  are  doing  ?  and  then  the  lamblicliian  method,  which  a  man 
of  more  experience  perhaps  than  all  of  you,  found  the  only 
effectual  one  ; — indeed  why  not  send  for  lamblichus  himself? 
alas  !  how,  in  that  case,  to  determine  his  identity  ?  for  spirits 
whose  “  very  nature  it  is  to  lie  ”  could  not,  I  take  it,  be  cer¬ 
tainly  relied  upon,  even  if  they  should  swear  to  it,  by  a  spon¬ 
taneous  oath,  as  in  the  case  of  the  identity  of  Swedenborg. 
How,  then,  are  you  to  find  your  way  out  of  such  a  labyrinth 
without  the  Ariadnean  thread  which  you  seem  not  to  have 


115 


hold  of? — for,  hear  further  one  well  acquainted  with  the  in¬ 
tricacies  of  the  place. 

“  Those  who  are  themselves  flagitious,  and  who  leap,  as  it 
were,  to  things  of  a  divine  nature  in  an  illegal  and  disorderly 
manner,  these  are  not  able  to  associate  Avith  the  gods.  Be¬ 
cause,  likewise,  they  are  excluded  through  certain  defilements, 
from  an  association  Avitli  pure  spirits,  they  become  connected 
Avith  evil  spirits,  and  are  filled  from  them  Avith  the  Avorst  kind 
of  inspiration,  are  rendered  depraved  and  unholy,  *  *  *  *  * 
and,  in  short,  become  similar  to  the  depraved  demons,  Avith 
Avhom  they  are  consonant.  These,  therefore,  attract  to  them¬ 
selves  through  alliance  depraved  spirits  &.c.”  (lamblichus  de 
Mysteriis.) 

It  seems  necessary  to  look  Avell  after  the  Mediums  too,  as 
Avell  as  the  spirits,  hence  the  ancients  commonly  selected  the 
young  and  innocent  for  that  office.  The  following  curious 
quotation  aaIII  also  suggest  another  precaution  very  necessary 
to  be  remembered,  AAdiile  at  the  same  time  it  exhibits  the 
insinuating  character  of  the  ancient  evil  spirits. 

“  But  an  intellectual  perception,  above  all  things,  separates 
Avhatever  is  contrary  to  the  true  purity  of  the  phantastic 
spirit ;  for  it  attenuates  this  spirit  in  an  occult  and  ineffable 
manner,  and  extends  it  to  divinity.  And  Avhen  it  becomes 
adapted  to  this  exalted  energy,  it  draws,  by  a  certain  affinity 
of  nature,  a  divine  spirit,  into  conjunction  Avith  the  soul  ;  as 
on  the  contrary,  Avhen  it  is  so  contracted  and  diminished  by 
condensation,  that  it  cannot  fill  the  ventricles  of  the  brain, 
which  are  the  seats  assigned  to  it  by  providence,  then,  nature 
not  enduring  a  A^acuum,  an  evil  sjnrit  is  insinuated  in  the 
place  of  one  divine.  And  Avhat  will  not  the  soul  suffer  Avhen 
assiduously  pressed  by  such  an  execrable  evil.”  (Synesius  de 
Somniis.) 

“  Keep  the  head  w\arm  and  the  feet  cool,”  lest  the  phantas¬ 
tic  spirit  be  not  sulficiently  expanded  to  fill  the  ventricles  of 
the  brain  !  !  The  evil  spirit,  it  seems,  sceketh  empty  places  ! 
hoAV  admirably,  and  unexpectedly,  this  enables  us  to  account 


116 


for  the  haunted  condition  of  certain  heads  and  old  houses  !  I 
am  not  aware  that  we  have  any  apocatastatic  parallel  to  this 
theory  of  possession.  If  not,  it  was  not,  perhaps,  of  the  an¬ 
cient  sidereal  semination,  hut  only  a  dream  of  the  author 
while  discoursing  on  dreams. 

But  it  is  time  to  exhibit  some  of  the  opinions  of  those  who 
leld  that  all  the  spirits  were  evil. 


>  “  These  impure  spirits,  dmmons,  as  is  shown  by  the  magi¬ 

cians,  philosophers,  and  Plato,  lurk  about  statues  and  conse¬ 
crated  images,  and  by  their  influence  (afflatu)  acquire  the 
authority  as  of  a  present  deity  ;  one  while  inspiring  soothsay¬ 
ers,  at  another  making  their  abode  in  sacred  places,  sometimes 
animating  the  fibres  of  entrails,  guiding  the  flight  of  birds, 
directing  the  lot,  giving  birth  to  oracles  involved  in  many 
falsehoods  ;  for  they  are  both  deceived,  and  deceive,  since 
they  are  both  ignorant  of  real  truth,  and  keep  back  what  they 
know,  to  their  own  perdition.  Thus  they  gravitate  downwards, 
and  seduce  from  the  true  God  towards  matter,  render  life  tur¬ 
bid,  and  sleep  unquiet ;  glidmg  secretly  into  the  bodies  of 
men,  they  simulate  diseases,  terrify  the  mind,  distort  the 
limbs,  tjm.”  (Minutius  Pelix,  in  Octavio.) 

They  could  play  pantomime,  probably,  and  imitate  the  man¬ 
ners  and  peculiarities,  even  to  the  fits,  and  other  diseases,  of 
individuals,  as  the  modern  spirits  are  in  the  habit  of  doing. 

“  So  also,  they  affect  to  be  the  authors  of  the  things  which 
they  announce ;  and  plainly  they  are  of  the  evil,  but  of  the 
good,  never.  They  also  pick  out  the  purposes  of  God,  some¬ 
times  from  the  mouths  of  the  prophets,  sometimes  from  the 
common  interpretations  of  them,  (lectionibus  resonantibus.) 
Hence,  also,  gathering  certain  preordinations  of  events,  they 
emulate  divinity  by  stealing  divine  foreknowdedge.  But,  in 
their  oracles  with  what  skill  they  can  mingle  equivocations, 
Croesus  can  tell,  or  Pyrrhus.”  (Tertullian.  Apologetic,  c.  22.) 

I  shall  be  excused  for  quoting  one  or  two,  more  modern 
opinions,  which,  however,  seem  to  have  been  formed  from  an 
■investigation  of  the  ancient  phenomena. 


117 


“  You  woiild  say  that  the  oracles  were  to  he  suspected,  from 
I  the  fact,  that  they  were  so  ambiguous  that  an  oracle  was  ne¬ 
cessary  in  order  to  understand  them.  But,  if  the  Oracles 
were  the  impostures  of  crafty  men,  it  does  not  thence  follow 
that  they  were  not  the  w'ork  of  illusive  dsemons.  I  attribute 
them  partly  to  both.  Nor,  if  they  Avere  ambiguous,  Avere 
they  therefore  not  demoniacal ;  because  the  demons  them¬ 
selves,  ignorant  of  future  contingencies,  relied  upon  subtile, 
but  most  often,  fallacious  conjecture.  Wherefore  the  demons 
must  needs  use  obscure  and  equivocal  language,  that  it  might 
be  supposed  the  oracles  Avere  not  correctly  understood,  if  the 
CA'ent  did  not  correspond  to  the  prediction.  Priestcraft  is  not 
a  sufficient  explanation,  because  many  things  w^ere  foretold 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  human  mind.”  (J.  G.  Vossius  de 
Origine  &  Progressu.  Idolatrim.) 

The  following,  for  a  Christian,  is  more  like  more  modern, 
than  it  is  like  more  ancient  opinions  than  itself. 

“  There  are  some  aaIio  suppose  that  certain  subordinate 
spirits,  partly  good,  and  partly  evil,  instruments  of  retribu¬ 
tion,  observant  of  the  things  done  here,  traverse  the  air  and 
earth  ;  ivho  received  from  above  a  knowledge  of  things  fu¬ 
ture,  with  the  command  to  impart  them  to  men  ;  sometimes 
in  dreams  ;  by  the  stars  :  by  the  Delphic  tripod  ;  by  the  en¬ 
trails  of  immolated  animals  ;  and  sometimes  by  a  voice  origi¬ 
nating  in  the  atmosphere,  and  then,  as  it  Avere,  diffused,  and 
pervading  the  ears  of  men,  Avhich  the  ancients  called  “  Divine 
Voice.”  *****  It  Avill  not  be  found  that  these  things 
Avere  unreal  and  futile,  if  one  should  attentNely  consider  the 
subject.”  (Nicephor.  Gregor.  Histor.  Lib.  v.) 

The  author  of  the  above  is  perhaps  a  little  noncommittal  in 
regard  to  his  personal  opinion  of  the  character  of  the  spirits. 
But  let  us  return  to  more  ancient  sources.  The  folloAving, 
from  some  of  the  “  holy  Fathers,”  are  sufficiently  explicit, 
but  as  they  are  someAvhat  peculiar,  I  must  beg  leave  to  quote 
the  original  language.  These  extracts  are  for  the  learned 


118 


exclusively  ;  ungrecian  people,  therefore,  will  please  to  pass 
them  by. 

Iropsirai  “TOIVUV  -TTSpi  rrjg  UvSiac;,  o’lfsp  Soxsi  twv  aXXuv  (ravTfiwv  Xafxm'po- 
TSpov  ruy)(^av£iv^  on  ‘ifspuaQs^oiisvr]  ro  ttjs  Kotg'aXias  g'ofj.iov  rj  <rou  A‘!foXXuvog 
<!rpo^r]rr}g  Ss^srai  ‘tfvsu/xa  6ia  tuv  ywaixsiuv  xoXnruv’  TouirXYipudsKfa.  atro^p^sj- 
ysrai  Ta  vo/xi^o,asva  sivai  rfs/J-va  xai  6sia  pLavTSu/rara.  opa  Srj  Sia  “toutwv,  si  [j.rj 
TO  Tov  ifvsviiarog  sxsivou  axaSaprov  xai  j3s(3riXov  spuipaivsrai*  |X7]  5ia  fravwv  xai 
aipavwv  ‘TTopwv,  xai  toXXu  yvvaixsiuv  xoXkum  xadspurspuv,  s-ttsiiTiov  rv)  4'^X'^ 
Tvig  (ls<f7n^ou(j7ig.  aXXa  6ia  tovtojv,  a  ov6s  6siug  rjv  too  Cwippovi  xai  avdpUTou 
^XSffEiv,  ovnfo)  XsySTai  r}  xai  aT’TSd&ai. 

[Origan,  contra  Celsimij  lib.  vii.) 

To  the  same  purport  speaks  he  of  the  “  golden  mouth 
and  both  he  and  Origen  evidently  express  the  opinions  of 
others  as  well  as  their  own. 

AsySTai  ds  ri  Ilu^ia  yvvr]  Tig  ov(fa,  S‘7rixa&r]<f6ai  tu  TpiTroiii  t'ots  tov  Air- 
oXXoovog  Siaipovffa  Ta  CxsXtJj  si^’  ovtoj  orvsvi-xa  ^ovTjpov^  xaTOjSsv  avaSiSofJ-SvoVj 
xai  Sia  ysvSTixojv  avTTjg  SiaSuofLSvov  fxopiwv,  T'Xrjpovv  <rr]v  yijva;xa  rrjg  [xaviag. 

[Chrysostom.  Horn,  xx.) 

I  am  not  awmre  that  the  tripod,  at  least  of  the  Delphic 
construction,  has  yet  come  into  use  among  the  modern  Py¬ 
thonesses. 

Put  before  dismissing  this  part  of  our  subject,  it  may  be 
well  to  ascertain  the  opinion  of  those  who,  anciently,  held  that 
there  were  both  good  and  evil  spirits,  in  regard  to  what  kinds 
or  classes  of  manifestations  were  due  to  the  agency  of  evil 
spirits.  The  doctrine  of  Iaml)lichus  was,  evidently,  quite 
different  from  that  of  the  modern  Expert,  in  regard  to  the 
effect  of  the  mental  development  of  the  Medium  upon  the 
character  or  quality  of  the  communication. 

“  It  is  necessary,  however,  to  think  that  the  soul  which  uses 
divination  of  this  kind,  not  only  becomes  an  auditor  of  the 
prediction,  but  also  contributes  in  no  small  degree  from  itself 
to  the  consummation  of  it,  and  of  what  pertains  to  its  opera¬ 
tions.  For  this  soul  is  co-excited  and  co-operates,  and  at  the 
same  time  foreknows,  through  a  certain  necessary  sympathy. 


119 


Such  a  mode,  therefore,  of  divination  as  this  is  entirely  dif¬ 
ferent  from  the  divine  and  true  inode,  being  alone  able  to 
predict  respecting  small  and  diurnal  concerns,  viz  :  respect¬ 
ing  such  as  being  placed  in  a  divided  nature,  are  borne  along 
about  generation,  and  which  impart  motions  from  themselves 
to  things  that  are  able  to  receive  them,  and  produce  multi  • 
form  passions  in  things  which  are  naturally  adapted  to  be 
copassive.  Perfect  knowledge  however,  can  never  be  effected 
through  passion.  *  *  *  put  that  which  is  mingled  with 

the  most  irrational  and  dark  nature  of  a  corporeal-formed 
essence  is  filled  Avith  abundant  ignorance.”  (lamblichus  de 
Mysteriis.) 

He  thinks  also  that  the  manifestations  in,  or  l)y,  those  mag¬ 
netized  by  music,  the  enchanted,  Avhich  correspond  almost 
exactly  to  a  large  proportion  of  modern  hlediums,  except  in 
the  method  by  which  the  9  interior  state  ”  is  induced, — these 
he  thinks  are  all  moonshine. 

“  Nor  must  you  compare  an  ambiguous  state,  such  as  that 
Avhich  takes  place  between  a  sober  condition  of  mind  and  ex- 
tasy,  Avith  sacred  visions  of  the  gods,  Avhich  are  defined  by 
one  energy.  But  neither  must  you  compare  the  most  mani¬ 
fest  surveys  of  the  gods,  Avith  the  imaginations  artificially 
jirocured  by  enchantment.  For  the  latter  have  neither  the 
energy,  nor  the  essence,  nor  the  truth  of  the  things  that  are 
seen,  but  extend  mere  phantasms  as  far  as  to  appearance 
only.” 

“  One  may  justly  be  astonished  at  the  contrariety  of  opin¬ 
ions  produced  by  admitting  that  the  truth  of  divination  is 
with  enchanters.” 

“  Nor  must  such  truth  be  admitted  as  that  Avhieh  subsists 
between  agents  and  patients,  Avhen  they  are  concordantly 
homologous  Avith  each  other.”  (have  a  common  consciousness.) 

The  great  disagreement  of  modern  spirits  on  important 
points,  and  those  too,  such  that  they  could  not  be  misrepre¬ 
sented  except  wilfully,  Avould  exeite  the  suspicions  of  lambli¬ 
chus. 


120 


Nevertheless,  no  one  of  these  is  such  as  the  divine  species 
of  divination  ;  nor  must  the  one  divine  and  unmingled  form 
of  it  be  characterised  from  the  many  phantasms  which  pro-  ♦ 
ceed  fiom  it  into  generation,  (imitations)  Nor  if  there  are 
certain  other  false  and  deceitful  resemblances,  which  are  still 
more  remote  from  reality,  is  it  fit  to  adduce  these  in  forming  a 
judgment  of  it.  But  the  divine  form  or  species  of  divination 
is  to  be  appiehended  according  to  one  intelligible  and  immu¬ 
table  truth  :  and  the  mutation  which  s7ibsists  differently  at 
afferent  times,  is  to  be  rejected  as  unstable  and  unadapted 
to  the  god.s^  (Idem  Ibidem.) 

Truly,  gentlemen  Spiritists,  there  is  danger,  I  think,  that 
your  spirit-intercourse  Avill  not,  after  all,  prove  to  be  apocat- 
astatical  of  the  true  and  venerable  ancient  theurgy  ;  but  only 
of  the  damnably  impious,  and  heretical  ancient  counterfeits 
of  it,  teste  lamblicho  ipso,  Experto  longe  omnium  auctorita- 
tissimo  ;  and  so  be  found  altogether  the  work  of  evil  spirits, 
if  not  of  such  as  it  is  proper  to  speak  of  only  in  Greek. 


( 


CHAPTER  XI. 


The  description  of  paradise,  which  is  promised  unto  the  pious  :  therein  are 
rivers  of  incorruptible  water  ;  and  rivers  of  milk,  the  taste  whereof  changeth 
not ;  and  rivers  of  wine,  pleasant  unto  those  who  drink  ;  and  rivers  of  clarified 
honey  ;  and  therein  shall  they  have  plenty  of  all  kinds  of  fruits.  *  *  *  *  * 
They  shall  dwell  in  gardens  of  delight ;  reposing  on  couches  adorned  with 
gold  and  precious  stones ;  and  there  shall  accompany  them  fair  damsels  (“  nat¬ 
ural  partners  1”)  having  large  black  eyes;  resembling  pearls  hidden  in  their 
shells.  Moh.immed,  Koran.  CC.  xlvii,  Ivi. 

The  Judge.  I  asked  mentally.  Where  is  he  (Mohammed)  now  1 
Spirit-Bacon.  Where  he  is  1  know  not ;  but  perhaps  in  the  beautiful  gar¬ 
dens  he  has  so  graphically  described.  Spiritualsm,  Section  xi. 


There  are  several  other  resemblances  bettveen  the  ancient 
and  the  present  spiritists,  and  their  opinions  and  doings, 
which  I  will  bring  together  in  a  miscellaneous  chapter,  under 
the  head  of - as  a  merchant  would  say — sundries. 

One  of  the  most  curious  of  these  is  the  revival  of  the  an¬ 
cient  “  teletae,”  or  service  for  the  dead,— outside  of  the  inclo¬ 
sure,  I  mean,  by  which  it  has  hitherto  been  limited.  The 
ancient  pagans  believed, — the  spirits,  doubtless,  told  them  so, 
and  the  doctrine  had  been  handed  down  from  the  “  fertile  pe¬ 
riod,” — that  certain  prayers  and  sacred  rites  helped  the  souls 
of  the  deceased ;  of  those  who  died  with  any  stain  un- 


cleansed  upon  tlieni ; — “  that  there  are  ahsolutions  and  puri¬ 
fications  from  sins  through  sacrifices,  xai  i^^ovwv,  (funereal 

games,  sports,  toakes  7)  some  for  those  who  are  yet  alive,  and 
some  for  the  dead  ;  those,  namely  which  are  called  teletae, 
xchich  deliver  us  from  the  sufferings  there, {‘ruv  sxsi  xctxwv, 
penal  sufferings  in  the  other  world.)  (Plato,  de  llepublica 
Lib.  ii.) 

“  But  when  one  dissolves  an  injury  committed  by  his  father, 
by  restoring,  for  instance,  land  which  he  had  unjustly  taken, 
he  then  makes  himself  to  be  unobnoxious  to  justice,  and 
lightens,  and  benefits  the  soul  of  his  father.  *  *  *  Hence 
the  gods  fre({uently  predict  to  men  that  they  should  go  to 
such  or  such  places,  and  that  an  apology  should  be  made  to 
this  man  who  Avas  never  knoAvn  to  them,  and  that  he  should 
be  appeased,  in  order  that  thus  they  may  obtain  a  remedy, 
and  be  lil)erated  from  their  difficulties,  and  that  the  punish¬ 
ments  inflicted  on  them  by  the  Furies  may  cease.  Thus,  for 
instance,  it  is  related  of  one  Avho  Avas  cutting  doAvn  an  oak, 
and  though  he  Avas  called  upon  by  a  Nymph  not  to  cut  at 
doAvn,  yet  persisted  in  felling  it,  that  he  Avas  punished  for  so 
doing  lay  the  avenging  Furies,  till  one  Avho  possessed  the 
telestic  art  told  him  to  raise  an  altar  aiad  sacrifice  to  this 
Nymph,  for  thus  he  would  be  liberated  from  his  calamities.” 

The  above  is  from  a  treatise  of  the  Platonic  Flermias,  Avho, 
thus,  as  Mr.  Thomas  Taylor  oljsei'ves,  “  beautifully  unfolds 
the  meaning  of  the  ancient  indignation  of  the  gods,  through 
foi-mer  guilt.”  Let  us  commend  it,  Avith  other  suchlike  hea¬ 
thenisms  to  the  next  edition  of  The  Conflict  of  the  Ages. 

The  souls  of  the  Avicked  anciently — for  there  Avere  some 
Avicked  meir  anciently, — were  punished  in  various  ways,  and 
for  A'arious  purposes,  and  for  various  periods.  Sometimes  by 
penal  pains  in  the  other  Avoidd,  and  sometimes  by  being  sent 
back  into  this  in  a  loAver  form  than  that  in  wdiich  they  had 
sinned,  as  first  in  that  of  a  Avoman,  and  then,  if  sin  Avas  still 
pei’sisted  in,  in  the  form  of  a  beast  ;  (Plato,  Timaeus)  a 
method  not  favoi-able  to  “  pi’ogress  ”  one  Avould  think.  The 


123 


punishment  Avas  in  some  cases  temporary,  and  sometimes 
eternal,  (de  Republica  Lib.  x.) 

The  purpose  of  it  sometimes  the  reformntion  of  the  offen¬ 
der,  and  sometimes,  for  the  sake  of  justice—  if  there  is  any 
modern  consciousness  correlative  to  that  idea, — for  the  gods, 
anciently, — not  being  a  mere  involuntary  circulating  medium 
“  as  exhibited  in  the  analogue  of  the  blood  floAving  through 
the  human  body,  unaided  by  voluntary  mental  volition  ” — 
the  gods, — at  least  the  good  ones, — there  Avill,  hoAVCAmr  imme¬ 
diately  arise  a  difference  of  opinion  on  that  point, — the  gods, 
anciently,  insisted  on  justice  being  done  ;  punishing  not  only 
the  sinners  themselves  in  the  other  Avorld,  but  their  native 
places,  their  fiimilies,  and  children,  for  many  generations,  un¬ 
less  due  restitution  Avere  made  to  the  injured,  or  their  heirs 
or  assigns  ;  and  due  acknoAvledgement,  and  confession,  and 
other  appropriate  recognition  of  the  justice  of  their  ‘‘  ancient 
indignation  ”  Avere  offered  to  the  gods  themselves.  But,  of¬ 
tentimes,  those  Avho  had  been  sent  back  into  this  Avoidd  by 
Avay  of  punishment  for  their  sins  Avhile  in  it  before,  Avere  still 
bound,  such  Avas  the  nature  of  the  offence  committed  in  the 
former  life,  to  make  these  same  amendes  honorahles  to  the 
gods,  and  they  Avere  afflicted  by  the  avenging  furies  until  they 
did  it.  Noav  here  Avas  a  true  difficulty,  dignus  vindice 
nodus,  a  knot,  AA'orthy  of  somebody  Avho  could  untie  it,  for 
they  had  all  been  compelled  to  drink  Lethe-Avater  before 
they  started  on  the  second  voyage  of  life,— or  the  third  as 
the  case  might  be, — and  of  course  had  not  the  slightest  ves¬ 
tige  of  remembrance  of  Avhat  they  Avere  being  punished  for, 
did  not  eAmn  knoAV  that  they  Avere  living  a  second  life,  and 
therefore  could  not  take  a  liii.t  of  Avhat  the  gods  desired  of 
them.  These,  then,  Avere  plainly,  a  class  of  cases  for  a  good 
IMedium.  Accordingly,  nothing  Avas  more  common  than  for 
the  public  oracles,  or  private  professors  of  the  “  teles  tic  art,” 
Avho  could  clairvoyantly  see  Avho  such  unlucky  people  had 
been,  and  Avhat  they  had  done  in  their  previous  life, — they 
could  tell  also  who  they  themselves  had  been,  and  what  they 


124 


had  (lone,  as  in  the  case  of  that  every  Avay  thoroughly  devel¬ 
oped  Medium,  Apollonius  Tyanensis,  (See  Vit.  Apollon.  Ty- 
an.) — nothing  was  more  common,  I  say,  than  for  these  teJestic 
Mediums  to  point  out  to  this  class  of  sinners  what  crimes 
they  had  been  guilty  of,  and  what  expiation  the  gods  required 
further  of  them,  whereupon,  the  due  rites  being  performed, 
the  hauntings  and  other  annoyances  ceased,  (would  this  theory 
account  well  for  some  modern  manifestations  ?)  (See  Plato, 
Proclus,  lamblichus,  Hermias,  and  the  Classics  passim.) 

AYhether  these  same  Mediums  also  informed  the  friends  of 
souls  suffering  below  and  “  asking  prayers,”  what  was  to  be 
done  for  them,  and  directed  in  regard  to  the  “  teleta?,”  I  am 
not  3mt  learned  enough  certainly  to  determine,  but  the  ana¬ 
logical  argument  in  favor  of  it  would  be,  in  this  case,  nearly 
or  quite,  equal  to  “  the  evidence  of  eye-witnesses.” 

Our  apocatastatic  parallelism  here  is  very  striking,  that 
this  ancient  heathen  service /or  the  dead,  should  be  re-evolved 
just  now  along  with  so  many  other  fac-similes  of  the  ancient 
spirit-times.  It  has  not,  however,  come  within  the  compass 
of  my  reading  to  find  that  the  ancient  spirits  were  as  benevo¬ 
lently  disposed,  or  rather,  disposed  to  be  benevolent  on  as 
large  and  liberal  a  scale  as  some  of  their  modern  successors. 
For  instance,  that  Howard  of  a  spirit  who  directed  the  apos¬ 
tolic  circles  in  New  York  to  pray  nightly  for  the  general  jail- 
delivery  and  ascent  to  upper  spheres  of  Hannibal  and  all  his 
army.  (See  Supernal  Theology.) 

By  the  way,  how  wicked,  beyond  all  recent  parallel,  must 
have  been  those  old  Numidian  horsemen  whoso  betrampled  the 
Homans, — or  else  their  souls  must  have  been  sadly  neglected, 
— to  lie  in  limbo  all  this  time,  while  modern  sinners  “  go  up  ” 
in  from  three  to  twelve  months. 

Some  of  those  too,  who,  in  our  time,  descend,  I  beg  pardon, 
begin  to  ascend,  with  all  their  sins  upon  their  heads,  unhou- 
seled,  unaniiealed,  are  found  to  need,  or  to  desire,  deliverance 
from  the  eatsi  xeuwv^  and  solicit  prayers,  but  whether  they  de- 


125 


mand  otlier  due  rites  to  be  performed  for  them,  such  as  resti¬ 
tution  by  their  lieirs,  where  extortion,  and  other  unjust  meth¬ 
ods  of  gain  were  among  their  sins,  Avhich  used  to  “  lighten 
and  benefit  the  souls  ”  of  rapacious  sinners  in  the  old  spirit- 
times,  I  am  not  informed.  However,  the  “  evils  there  ”  have 
become  so  comparatively  light  and  tolerable  that  I  doubt 
whether  any  modern  heirs  would  1)0  in  haste  to  remove  them 
by  such  methods  ;  for  the  Fiery  Phlegethon  flows  now  with 
nothing  hotter  than  warm  water  just  for  bathing;  the  black 
Cocytus  has  become  limpid  ;  the  bitter  Acheron  is  a  “  sweet 
stream Tartarus  is  no  longer  much  “  murky and,  in 
short,  Elysium  has  spread  pretty  much  all  over  Hades. 
These,  it  must  be  confessed,  are  apocatastatic  resemblances 
with  a  difference,  such  however,  is  sometimes  the  effect  of 
“  Progress,”  although  most  people  are  apt  to  become  rather 
worse  than  better  by  it. 

It  is  much  insisted  on  by  the  authors  of,  and  believers  in^ 
the  New  Dispensation,  that  the  consideration  and  belief  that 
we  are  surrounded  bj",  and  in  the  presence  of,  spirits  ;  and 
especially  that  our  guardian  angels  constantly  watch  over  us, 
and  rejoice  in  our  virtue,  and  grieve  at  our  fliults, — the  old 
orthodox  notion  that  we  are  ever  in  the  presence  of  God,  and 
that  his  eye  is  always  upon  us,  not  having  been  found  of 
much  avail, — cannot  but  have  a  very  happy  effect  upon  the 
manners  and  conduct  of  those  who  accept  the  doctrine.  Such 
a  doctrine  too,  cannot  fail  to  afford,  oftentimes,  comfort  and 
hope  to  those  who  need  them,  and  strength  and  courage  to 
the  otherwise  disheartened,  by  the  suggestion  that  celestial 
good-will  and  spirit-aid  are  ever  near  us.  I  need  not  quote 
living,  or  spirit-authors,  to  exhibit  this  point, — have  jirom- 
ised  to  be  briefl—see  spiritual  periodicals,  and  other  spirit- 
and  spiritual  literature,  passim. 

But  it  is  interesting  to  observe  the  exact, — with  the  excep¬ 
tion  perhaps  of  what  is  said  about  dragging  to  judgment, 
■which  evidently  savors  a  little  too  much  of  non-development, 
—and,  I  may  say,  beautiful  apocatastatic  coincidence  of  all 


126 


this  with  the  ancient  vieAvs  and  doctrines  upon  the  same  sub¬ 
ject. 

“  From  this  higher  order  of  dtemons,  Plato  asserts  there  is 
'^appointed  one  to  every  individual  as  a  witness  and  guardian 
in  the  oonduct  of  life,  who,  though  invisible,  is  always  present 
a  spectator  not  only  of  all  our  actions,  but  of  every  thought. 

I  But  when  life  is  finished,  and  we  are  to  return,  then  he  who 
’  presided  over  us,  lays  hold  of,  and,  as  it  Avere,  drags  his 
I  charge  to  the  judgment,  and  assists  in  the  conduct  of  the 
\  case  ;  if  the  soul  attempts  any  falsehood,  he  contradicts  it,  if 
it  speak  truth  he  confirms  it,  and  sentence  is  given  very  much 
according  to  his  testimony. 

Wherefore,  all  you  ivho  accept  this  divine  doctrine  of  Plato 
as  I  have  interpreted  it,  so  conform  your  minds  to  it  in  Avhat- 
ever  you  do  or  think,  as  knoiving  that  nothing  whatever  withm 
or  Avithout  the  mind  is  hid  from  this  Avatchful  guardian,  that 
Avith  curious  incpiisition  he  comes  to  a  knoAvledge  of  every¬ 
thing,  that  he  sees  everything,  understands  everything,  that 
he  divells  in  your  inmost  souls,  even  as  your  OAvn  conscious¬ 
ness.  He,  of  Avhom  I  speak,  our  especial  guardian,  peculiar 
governor,  ever-present  inspector,  proper  keeper,  watchful  ob¬ 
server,  indivisible  spectator,  inseperable  Avitness,  disapprove!- 
of  evil,  approver  of  good  ;  if  he  is  rightly  heede  1,  carefully 
consulted,  religiously  honored,  is,  for  us,  in  uncertainty,  a 
guide,  in  doubt,  an  adviser,  in  danger,  a  defender,  in  Avant,  a 
helper,  who  is  able,  by  dreams,  by  omens,  and  sometimes  per¬ 
haps,  if  the  occasion  require  it,  by  his  visible  presence,  to 
avert  evil,  to  promote  the  good,  to  elevate  our  fortune  Avhen 
loAV,  to  confirm  it  Avhen  unstable,  to  enlighten  it  Avhen  dark, 
to  guide  it  Avhen  prosperous,  to  change  it  when  adverse.” 
(xkpuleius  de  Deo  Socratis.) 

This  is,  certainly,  Avhat  one  may  call  an  “  Elegant  Extract,” 
or  rather,  eloquent  extract,  quite  Jeremy  Taylorisb.  I  trust 
the  spiritals  will  be  grateful  to  me  for  it. 


127 


And  the  gods  grant  that  they  may  profit  hy  it,  and  try  to 
rise  a  little  above  the  boarding-school-Miss  style  when  they 
next  indite  upon  the  same,  or  similar  subjects. 

The  ancients  were  not  all  as  dogmatic  in  regard  to  the 
doctrine  of  plenary  inspiration  as  lamblichus.  Perhaps  how¬ 
ever,  even  he  would"  admit  that  the  form  of  the  revelation 
might  be  somewhat  modified  by  the  character  of  the  Medium, 
thouo-h  not  the  matter  of  it.  Some  of  the  ancients,  however, 
as  is  evident  from  the  quotation  already  made  from  Porphyry, 
supposed  the  communication  to  be  a  sort  of  mixture  or  com¬ 
pound,  or  combination,  derived  partly  from  the  spirit  and 
partly  from  the  Medium.  Such  also  seems  to  be  the  opinion 
of  many  at  the  present  time.  I  think,  however,  that  the  pre¬ 
vailing  modern  opinion  is  pretty  apocatastatic  of  the  following 
(certainly  some  such  opinion  is  very  indispensable  in  order  to 
account  for  the  form  of  the  celestial  matter  in  modern  res¬ 
ponses,)  which  I  judge  was  the  most  common  ancient  opinion 
also,  though  different  from  that  of  lamblichus  perhaps  in  one 
direction  ;  and  from  that  of  the  modern  Expert  in  the  other. 

“  If  the  verses  of  the  Pythia  are  inferior  to  those  of  Homer, 
wm  need  not  suppose  that  Apollo  is  the  author  of  them,  lie 
merely  gives  the  impulse  whereby  eaoh  (prophetess)  is  moved 
according  to  her  peculiar  disposition.  For  if  the  responses 
were  to  be  given  by  writing  instead  of  speaking,  I  do  not 
think  the  letters  (yp(/,(x,aa7a)  supposed  to  be  written  by  the  god 
would  be  found  fault  -with  because  they  lacked  the  calligraphy 
of  royal  epistles  ; — for  neither  the  voice,  the  intonation,  the 
diction,  or  the  metre,  is  the  god’s  but  the  woman’s.  He  only 
causes  visions,  and  supplies  light  to  the  soul  in  relation  to  the 
future.”  (Plutarch,  de  Pyth.  Oraculis.) 

This  is  plausible  and  convenient,  as  present  similar  expla¬ 
nations  are  of  similar  faets,  and  yet  it  seems  to  the  uninitia¬ 
ted  difficult  to  understand  why  Phoebus  Apollo,  or  Benj. 
Franklin,  or  any  other  high  celestial  dignitary  could  not,  or 
cannot,  inspire  the  words  as  well  as  the  thoughts,  in  so  far 
at  least,  that  the  quality  of  the  communication  should  not  be 


128 


deteriorated  1)y  its  transmission  tlirongli  the  Medium.  And 
such,  indeed,  Avas  the  ancient  theory  in  regard  to  responses 
from  all  good  spirits.  The  ancients,  it  is  true,  held  that 
communications  from  AX'ry  high  spirit-sources  must  pass  thro 
several  IMediums  and  descend  gradatim  in  order  to  reach 
“  this  terrene  abode  and  the  last  of  things.”  Apollo  himself 
Avas  only  one  of  .Jupiter’s  Mediums. 

Taura  yap  nfa^rjp 
Zsuc;  syxaStsi  Ao^ia  6s(j‘TftiiJ^aTCi. 

“  These  oracular  responses  hath  Jupiter  commmunicated  to 
Apollo.” 

Qiue  Phoebo  pater  omnipotens,  mihi  Phoebus  Apollo  ^ 
Prmdixit,  vobis  Furiarum  ego  maxima  paudo.  (  Virgil.) 

“  What  things  the  omnipotent  father  hath  foretold  to  Apol¬ 
lo,  and  Phoebus  Apollo  to  me,  those  I,  the  Princess  of  the 
Furies,  make  knoAvn  to  you.”  But  then  anciently  the  Me¬ 
dium,  Avhether  remote,  or  proximate,  Avas  a  mere  conduit  in 
relation  to  the  matter  of  the  message  and  did  not  absorb  in 
its  passage  all  the  best  of  it,  so  that  AA'hen  it  arrii^ed  at  its 
destination  there  Avas  nothing  left  ‘‘much  above  the  mental 
development  of  the  INIedium.”  The  spirit-Medium,  hoAvever, 
if  Medium  he  Avere,  next  preceding  the  human  one,  Avas  often 
pretty  high  in  rank  and  quality.  Apollo,  for  instance,  Avas 
one  of  the  Dii  Majores,  and  he  seems  not  to  have  had  any  in¬ 
termediate  attorney  betAveen  himself  and  the  Pythia,  because 
he  often  spoke  in  the  first  person,  “  I  Phoebus  Apollo.”  Even 
Jupiter  himself,  the  father  of  gods  and  men,  though  he  de¬ 
clined  to  honor  any  mortal  man  so  far  as  to  speak  b}^  his  Amice, 
yet  condescended  to  nod,  or  tip,  the  head  of  his  simulacrum  in 
response  to  men,  as  he  did  his  real  head  in  reply  to  the 
gods. 

xai  xua.v£?)rfiv  S'ff’  ocpputfi  vciirfs  Kpoviwv. 

*  *  #  fjLSyav  (5’  sXsXi^sv  OXiig-TTov. 

lie  spake,  and  bent  his  azure  broAV, 

Olympus  trembled  at  his  nod. 


129 


In  modern  times  all  tliese  tilings  are  arranged  somemliat 
differently,  so  much  so  indeed,  as  almost  to  endanger  the  apo- 
catastatic  parallel,  as  follows  :  “  It  is  therefore,  an  unwarrant¬ 
able  thing  to  look  for  perfect  wisdom,  or  for  instruction  much 
above  the  mental  development  of  the  Medium,  because  when 
the  whole  field  is  carefully  examined  it  will  be  found  that 
persons  in  this  world  do  not,  as  they  suppose,  communicate 
promiscuously  with  Sivedenborg.  Washington,  and  other  illus¬ 
trious  minds,  hnt  always  inimediately  with  their  own  par¬ 
ticular  and  congenial  guardian  spirit.  If  the  higher  spirits 
desire  to  impart  thoughts  they  do  so  by  attorney.  A  long 
chain  of  “  mediums  ”  is  at  times  formed  betw'een  some  exalted 
mind  in  the  next  sphere  and  a  person  on  the  footstool — but 
the  spirit  in  closest  sympathy  with  the  earthly  mind,  is  its 
own  congenial  protector.  For  an  illustration,  and  I  may  add, 
0,  f  ulfilment  of  this  law,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  prece¬ 
ding  volume,  page  fifty-seven,  where  may  be  found  this  sen¬ 
tence  :  “  A  high  society  of  angels  desire,  through  the  agency 
of  another  and  more  inferior  society.,  to  communicate  in  va¬ 
rious  ways  to  earth’s  inhabitants.”  Here  you  perceive  spirit¬ 
ual  media  are  acknowledged  to  exist  as  well  as  terrestrial 
channels, — the  immedmtc  spirit  being,  in  almost  every  in¬ 
stance,  the  guardian  of  the  person  communicating.  If  these 
laws  of  interpretation  be  accepted,  together  wdth  much  to  be 
hereafter  said,  the  reader  will  find  no  difficulty  in  extricating 
]  his  mind  from  doubts,  arising  from  contradictions.” 

Shade  of  “  the  divine  lamblichus  !  !”  didst  thou  not  appear 
in  person  to  assure  this  weak  and  all  incautious  brother  w'ho 
could  pen  such  inconsiderate  babble,  that  such  contradictory 
doings  are  altogether  and  indubitably  the  deeds  of  evil  de¬ 
mons  ?  Truly,  in  another  direction  he  shows  himself  cautious 
and  clever,  and  has  thrown  out  an  anchor  to  windward  against 
the  storms  of  doubt  and  cavil,  which  if  it  had  good  bottom, 
would  enable  his  ship  to  ride  out  the  gale  in  gallant  style ; 
meanwhile  he  has  forgotten  to  look  to  leeward  at  the  mocking 
spirits  towards  which  his  anchor  drags  rapidly,  and  which  the 

17 


130 


ancient  lighthouses  make  manifestly  visible  to  all  whose  eyes 
are  turned  in  that  direction, — “  will  find  no  difficulty  in  ex¬ 
tricating  Ids  mind  from  doubts  arising  from  contradic¬ 
tions  !  !  ”  forsooth  ?  Alas  !  unhappy  soothsayer,  “  Avho  ut- 
terest  things  unworthy  of  Phoebus,”  thou  art  plainly  in  need 
^  of  exorcism,  lor,  listen  to  the  highest  known  authority  on  this 
point :  “  A71  evil  demon  requires  that  his  worshiper  should 

be  just,  because  he  assumes  the  appearance  of  one  belonging 
to  the  divine  genus,  (how  easily  you  have  been  taken  in  by  a 
little  affected  milk-and-water  morality,)  but  he  is  subservient 
to  what  is  unjust  because  he  is  depraved.  The  same  thing 
likewise,  that  is  said  of  good  and  evil  7nay  be  asserted  of  the 
true  and  the  false.  *  *  *  *  *  And  that  indeed,  which 

consents  and  accords  with  itself,  and  always  subsists  with  in¬ 
variable  sameness,  pertains  to  more  excellent  natures  j  (is 
true  and  good)  but  that  which  is  hostile  to  itself,  which  is 
discordant,  and  never  the  same,  is  the  peculiarity  in  the 
MOST  EMINENT  DEGREE  q/”  DEMONIACAL  DISSENSION,  (false¬ 
hood  of  evil  demons)  about  which  it  is  not  at  cdl  wonderful 
that  things  of  an  opposing  nature  should  subsist^’  (lambli- 
chus  de  Mysteriis.) 

Out  of  his  own  mouth  he  demonstrates  himself  and  his 
compeers  to  be  apocatastatic,  much  less  of  the  true  “  mystic 
operators  ”  of  the  ancient  “  telestic  art  ”  than  of  the  prohine 
enchanters  and  magicians,  through  whom  the  Koman  politi¬ 
cians  consulted  the  dead  with  such  annoyance  to  the  State 
that  they  were  driven  forth  on  pain  of  death  by  decree  of  the 
Senate.  (Tacitus,  Annal.  ii.  32.) 

Another  remarkable  re-emergence  from  below  the  horizon 
along  with  the  rest  of  the  apocatastatic  curiosities,  is  that  of 
the  ancient  heathen  Elysium,  in  good  preservation  as  any  of 
the  lately  uneavtlied  flying  bulls  of  Nineveh.  A  gorgeous 
and  glorious  Paradise,  where  men  shall  enjoy  freely  and  fully, 
aesthetic  or  sensuous  i3leasures,  the  same  in  kind  as  those 
which  most  of  them  can  compass  only  partially  and  imperfect- 


131 


ly  in  this  world,  and,  oh,  unconscious  and  admirable  consisten¬ 
cy  !  they  take  their  pet  dogs  and  horses  along  with  them. 
Instead  of  saying  “  to-morrow  shall  be  as  this  day  and  much 
more  abundant their  doctrine  is  that  the  next  world  shall 
be  precisely  like  this,  only  a  great  deal  better  of  the  same 
sort. 

“  The  gods  shall  send  you  to  the  Elysian  plain,  and  the  ex¬ 
treme  margin  of  the  Earth,  where  men  lead  facile,  joyous 
lives.  No  snow  is  there,  or  wintry  cold,  or  storms  of  rain  ; 
but  Ocean  evermore  sends  music-breathing  zephyrs  to  refresh 
those  who  dwell  there.”  (Odyss.  iv.  563.) 

“  These  happy  heroes  dwell  devoid  of  care,  by  the  deep- 
eddying  Ocean,  in  the  Islands  of  the  blest,  where  thrice  each 
year  the  bounteous  Earth  pours  forth  for  them  delicious 
fruits.”  (Hesiod,  Op.  &-  Dies.) 

“  They  came  at  length  to  delightful  regions,  and  charming 
verdant  places,  amid  happy  groves  the  seats  of  the  blest. — 
Here  the  more  widely  expanded  aether  robes  the  plains  in 
purple  light,  they  have  also  their  own  sun  and  their  own  stars. 
Some  on  the  grassy  sward  exercise  their  limbs,  emulous,  in 
various  games,  or  wrestle  on  the  yellow  sand.  Some  per¬ 
form  the  choral  dance,  chanting,  while  they  beat  the  earth 
with  their  feet.  *  *  *  Here  dwell  the  mighty  heroes, 
born  in  better  (‘  prolific  ’)  periods,  Hus,  Assaracus,  and  Dar- 
danus  founder  of  Troy.  At  distance  he  admired  their  shadowy 
chariots,  their  javelins  stood  fixed  in  the  earth,  and  every- 
W'here  at  will  their  unharnessed  steeds  crept  the  grassy  mead¬ 
ows.  Nwe/i  j)leasu?’e  in  their  arms  and  chariots,  such  care 
to  feed  their  shining  war-horses,  as  they  had  in  life,  the 
same  they  feel  in  their  present  abode.  To  the  right  and  left 
he  beheld  them  pic-nicing  (vescentes)  on  the  grass,  and  chan¬ 
ting  in  chorus  a  joyous  paean,  in  the  fragrant  laurel- wood, 
whence  through  the  forest  flows  the  Eridanus  with  full  stream. 
Here  are  those  who  fell  fighting  for  their  country ;  Priests, 
who,  while  life  remained,  broke  not  their  vow  of  chastity ; 
pious  soothsayers,  who  uttered  things  worthy  of  Phoebus  ; 


132 


tliose  wlio,  by  arts  invented,  rendered  their  life  illustrious,  and 
by  deserving  it  attained  to  fame  ;  all  these,  their  temples 
bound  with  show-Avhite  chaplets,  associate,  and  dwell  together, 
here.”  (Virgil.  Aeneid.  vi.  638-665.) 

The  geography  of  the  Elysian  regions  seems  not  to  have 
been  very  well  settled  anciently.  Some  placed  them  upon 
the  far-off  margin  of  the  Earth,  some  beyond  the  margin  in 
the  Islands  of  Ocean,  some  made  them  a  part  of  Hades  under 
the  earth.  Some  others  however,  placed  them  in  the  milky 
way  and  ultimately  still  higher  up,  for  the  ancients  also  had 
their  “  Progress  ”  from  sphere  to  sphere,  of  which  the  present 
is  not  yet  quite  apocatastatic  but  becoming  so  in  various  res¬ 
pects,  and  especially  by  the  reappearance  of  the  doctrine  of 
the  pre-existence  of  the  soul  and  of  its  descent  with  sins  upon 
its  head  unto  this  “  terrene  abode.”  (See  The  Conflict  of 
Ages,  Spiritualism,  Celestial  Telegraph,  Ac.)  Anciently  the 
pre-existent  soul  descended  from  still  higher  regions  into  the 
milky  way,  where,  according  to  Pythagoras,  it  first  began  to 
smell  matter.  “  Hence  he  asserts  that  the  nutriment  of  milk 
is  first  offered  to  infants  because  their  first  motion  commences 
from  the  galaxy,  when  they  begin  to  fall  into  terrene  bodies.” 
From  thence  the  soul  descended  through  various  spheres  to 
Saturn,  Mercury,  the  Moon,  Ac.,  and  after  its  trial  in  the 
body  it  gradually  re-ascended  if  it  were  worthy,  or  if  not,  af¬ 
ter  repeated  disciplines  in  the  body,  (unless  it  proved  an  in¬ 
corrigible  sinner)  to  its  ancient  blissful  seats.  (Macrobius  in 
Somno  Scipionis,  Synesius,  de  Somniis,  Plato  in  Timmo,  A  de 
Ilepub.  X.) 

It  seems  to  have  been  a  pleasant  journey  through  meadows 
of  Asphodel,”  (“  which  were  probably  situated  in  the  Lion  ” 
says  Mr,  Thomas  Taylor,)  and  other  amenities,  both  ways ; 
so  that  it  must  have  been,  on  the  whole,  an  agreeable  method 
of  spending  one’s  eternity^  that  journeying  up  and  down, — 
analogous  to  that  in  which  genteel  people  spend  their  time — 
especially,  as,  by  the  aid  of  Lethe-water,  the  “  views,”  and 


other  “  lions,”  including  the  “  meadows  of  Asphodel,”  “  proba¬ 
bly  in  the  Lion,”  were  of  course,  always  as  good  as  new. 

The  whereabouts  of  the  modern,  or  apocatastatic  paradise, 
one  would  think,  ought  to  be  somewhat  more  “  definitely 
determined  ”  than  that  of  the  ancient  Elysium  ;  inasmuch  as 
the  application  of  magnetism  is  now  made,  freely,  not  only  to 
terrestrial,  but  to  celestial  navigation  also  ;  nevertheless  it  is, 
evidently,  about  as  hard  to  find  as  it  used  to  be  ;  however,  it 
is  undoubtedly  in  the  same  place,  since  it  is  prscisely  the 
same  sort  of  place,  that  it  was  anciently. 

The  following  is  pretty  precise  in  its  spherography  and  ce¬ 
lestial  statistics,  and  is  authenticated  by  the  fact  that  the 
Medium  through  whom  it  was  communicated  was  one  which 
Swedenborg  condescended  often  to  visit,  so  that  it  may  almost 
be  considered  as  having  the  sign  manual,  or  at  least  the  sig¬ 
net  of  that  sixth  sphere  dignitary  attached  to  it.  As  the  fact 
of  his  visiting  the  Medium  is  important,  I  shall  first  give  the 
remarkable  evidence  of  it.  It  seems  he  had  announced  his 
intended  visit  beforehand,  as  other  great  people  do,  and  ; 

“  On  the  occasion  promised  he  came  with  some  twenty  spir¬ 
its,  all  well  known  to  us,  and  identified  beyond  a  doubt. 
They  all  assured  us  of  the  fact,  and  voluntarily  took  an  oath, 
declaring,  in  the  name  of  God,”  that  Emmanuel  Swedenborg 
was  present.”  (Supernal  Theology,  viii.)  This,  then,  may 
serve  as  a  sort  of  credentials  to  what  follows. 

“  The  second  (sphere)  (the  Earth  being  the  first,)  is  above 
the  atmosphere,  about  six  miles  in  height.  The  third  occu¬ 
pies  about  forty  miles  in  height.  The  fourth  occupies  a  still 
wider  space,  and  so  of  the  others,  until  the  outer  lioundary  of 
the  sixth  and  commencement  of  the  seventh,  which  is  distant 
four  or  five  thousand  miles.”  (Idem  xi.)  “  In  rising  to  the 
spheres  there  are  openings  through  which  we  rise.”  (Idem 
vii.)  “  As  soon  as  I  reached  the  sixth  sphere  I  was  conducted 
to  my  own  home  and  left  alone,  I  sank  upon  the  grass  and 
listened  to  the  excjuisite  singing  of  the  l.nrds.  *  j  felt 

as  though  I  was  just  born  into  a  most  beautiful  world.  I 


134 


went  to  my  bed,  wbicli  was  made  of  roses,  and  laid  myself 
upon  it,  and  in  a  dreamy  state  of  happiness  fell  asleep.” 
(Idem,  ibidem.)  “I  dressed  myself  and  went  into  my  garden. 
I  saw  all  kinds  of  tempting  fruit  hanging  upon  the  trees.  * 
*  *  I  took  some  of  the  fruit  and  eat  it.  It  was  the  first 
time  I  had  tasted  spiritual!  food.  *  *  *  There  was  a 
beautiful  stream  running  through  my  garden.  I  went  to  the 
banks  of  it  and  there  found  a  golden  cup  inscribed  with  my 
name.  *  *  *  'When  I  rose  to  the  seventh  sphere  I  had 

but  one  guide  who  carried  a  lamp.  *  *  »  We  have  many 

parties  in  the  spheres.  At  one  of  them  in  the  sixth  there 
were  two  or  three  thousand  spirits  present.  We  always 
dance  and  always  have  music.  *  *  *  i  teacher  in 

French,  a  teacher  in  drawing,  and  teachers  in  many  other 
things.  I  have  taken  sketches  of  earthly  scenes  since  I  have 
been  in  the  spheres.”  (Idem,  i])idem.) 

This  is  tolerably  apocatastatic  essentially,  except  that  it 
lacks  the  dignity  and  good  taste  of  Elysium,  and  except  the 
locality,  and  except  the  learning  French,  which  I  fancy  an  old 
Greek  could  not  easily  be  induced  to  take  into  his  mouth. 
Pleasant  places  however,  those  spheres,  for  sentimental  young 
ladies,  with  their  ‘-natural  partners.”  (See  Supernal  The¬ 
ology.) 

But  here  comes  still  higher  authority,  perhaps  the  highest, 
or  next  to  the  highest.  Loquitur  the  spirit  of  Swedenborg 
himself  by  the  hand  of  Dr.  Dexter. 

“  Now  when  I  arrived  at  the  sixth  sphere  *  *  *  * 

newness  of  everything  impressed  me  with  delight.  The  air 
was  pure,  and  the  whole  heavens  were  clear  and  bright  be¬ 
yond  all  compaiison.  I  saw  no  difference  in  the  sky  except 
in  its  brightness  and  purity  ;  and  on  looking  abroad  on  the 
eaith  I  could  detect  no  difference  in  its  appearance  from  our 
earth,  except  in  the  heavenly  beauty  and  harmony  in  the  ar¬ 
rangement  of  the  landscape.  *  *  *  The  trees,  the  rocks 

and  mountains,  the  flowers  and  birds,  the  gushing  torrents  and 
the  murmuring  rivulets,  the  oceans  and  rivers,  man,  woman 


135 


and  child  all  passed  before  me.  *  *  *  We  occupy  earth — 

tangible,  positive  earth — as  much  as  your  earth  ;  but  the  ad¬ 
vanced  state  of  both  spirit  and  locality  renders  it  unnecessary 
for  us  to  labor  much  to  obtain  food  for  the  support  of  our 
bodies.  Then  again,  the  earth  brings  forth  spontaneously 
most  of  the  food  required  for  our  bodies.  And  *  *  *  the 

advanced  spirits  do  not  require  as  much  food  as  those  Avho 
are  below  them.” 

In  answer  to  a  remark  of  the  Judge  in  regard  to  locality 
and  the  probable  difficulty  of  making  an  intelligi1)le  statement 
on  that  point,  he  said  : 

“  I  am  glad  your  mind.  Judge,  recognises  the  difficulty  of 
understanding  locality  in  this  connection.  I  might  say  Mars, 
or  Jupiter,  or  Venus,  but  your  mind  would  tire  were  I  to  lead 
it  where  the  spirits  of  the  sixth  sphere  dwell.  I  cannot  locate 
it.  Suffice  it  to  say,  far  beyond  the  confines  or  limits  of  any 
star  or  planet  of  which  you  have  knowledge.”  (Spiritualism, 
Section  xv.) 

This  is  quite  satisfactory,  and  quite  apocatastatic,  except 
that  Mr.  Swedenborg  has  not  yet  arrived  where  dwell  the 
ancient  heroes,  “  for  whom  the  bounteous  earth  thrice  in  each 
year  pours  forth  delicious  fruits,”  so  that  they  are  not  obliged 
to  work  at  all.  He  does  not,  however,  agree  with  the  previous 
witness,  quasi  accredited  by  himself,  in  the  matter  of  locality ; 
which  seems  to  the  undeveloped  a  little  difficult  to  understand 
in  regard  to  a  mere  geographical  fact,  and  when  both  have 
been  over  the  ground.  If,  for  instance,  of  two  earthly  travel¬ 
lers,  both  of  whom  should  assert  that  they  had  resided  in 
London,  one  should  inform  us  that  it  was  in  the  East  Indies, 
or  beyond  any  place  “  of  which  we  had  knowledge,”  while  the 
other  located  it  in  England  or  France,  we  should  be  apt  to 
think  that  one  of  them,  and  possibly  the  other,  had  never 
been  there.  However,  see  the  Present  Age  and  Inner  Life, 
page  seventy-three ;  and  yet,  could  not  the  spirit  suggest  or 
describe  correctly,  and  the  Medium’s  hand  be  a  correct  aman¬ 
uensis  for  the  description  of  one  locality  as  well  as  another  ? 


There  is  one  more  important  witness  on  this  point,  viz.,  the 
“  young  Swedonhorg,”  or  apocatastatic  lamblichus,  unless 
“the  Judge”  chooses  to  compete  for  tliis  latter  and  higher 
honor — ^bnt  whether  to  rank  him  before,  or  second  to  the  last 
gentleman  on  the  stand,  I  am  dubious  ;  for  whether  is  more 
reliable,  the  'utterances  of  a  man  who  records  the  contents  of 
his  day-dreams  as  they  si)ontaneou,%hj  run  throgh  his  head  at 
something  more  than  average  speed,  or  the  expressions  of  a 
spirit  who,  finding  certain  ventricles  empty,  (See  Synesins,  nt 
supra)  “  insinnates  ”  itself  into  them,  and  l)eing  expanded  by 
the  warmth  of  the  place,  presses  out,  or  expresses  the  brain- 
dribble  of  another  man,  who,  meanwhile,  is,  himself,  by  the 
very  laws  of  pathology  in  a  passive  state,  for  it  is  evidently  a 
“  case  of  compression  ”  as  the  doctors  say.  But  let  us  hear 
the  witness. 

“THE  SPIRIT  LAND!”  "What  do  you  mean  by  these 
terms?  Something or  something  literal?  I  mean 
a  substantial  world  :  a  sphere,  similar  in  constitution  to  this 
world,  only,  in  every  conceivable  respect,  one  degree  superior 
to  the  best  planet  in  our  solar  system. 

M  hat  is  the  external  appearance  of  the  Spirit  Land  7 

It  appears  like  a  beautiful  morning  !  The  surface  is  diversi¬ 
fied  endlessly,  with  vallies,  rivers,  hills,  mountains,  and  innu¬ 
merable  parks.  These  parks  are  particularly  attractive. 
The  ten  thousand  varieties  of  flowers  lend  a  peculiar  prismatic 
charm  to  the  far-extending  territories,  and  the  soft  divine 
ether  in  which  the  entire  world  is  bathed  supasses  all  concep¬ 
tion. 

Canst  thou  form  an  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  the  second 
sphere  7 

Multiply  our  earth  by  twenty-seven  million  times  its  pre¬ 
sent  size,  and  it  will  give  you  the  exact  size  of  one  of  the 
countless  parks  of  the  second  sphere^ 

Hoiv  was  the  Spirit  Land  formed  7 

What  law  was  it  which  formed  the  sparkling  girdles  of  Sat¬ 
urn  ?  What  becomes  of  the  fine  invisilile  particles  of  matter 


137 


which  emanate  from  vegetation — from  minerals,  from  all  ani¬ 
mal  bodies,  and  from  the  entire  globe  ?  This  earth  alone 
gives  off  eight  hundred  millions  of  tons  of  invisible  emanations 
every  year.  Where  do  these  atoms  go  ?  The  earth  j^erspires 
like  the  human  body.  *  *  *  *  the  other  planets — - 
Mercury,  Venus,  the  vast  group  of  asteroids.  Mars,  Jupiter, 
Saturn,  the  three  orbs  beyond,  together  with  all  their  moons 
— give  off  fine  emanations  just  like  the  earth.  Where  do 
these  emanations  go  ?  These  questions  are  left  you  as  replies 
to  quere  as  to  the  formation  of  the  Spirit  Land. 

Where  is  the  Spirit  Land  locatedj  7 

Seest  thou  that  beautiful  zone  of  worlds,  at  night,  called 
the  “Milky  Way?”  *  *  *  Yon  “Milky  Way”  is  com¬ 

posed  of  myriads  of  suns  and  planets — each  system  resem¬ 
bling  oiir  sun  with  its  planets.  *  *  *  * 

earth,  and  all  the  neighboring  planets,  constitute  but  one 
group  in  the  circle.  On  these  planets  the  hitman  spirit 
FIRST  begins  to  be.  (Hence  children  drink  milk,  as  Py¬ 
thagoras  says.)  *  *  *  Hence  this  circle  of  planets  (taken 

altogether)  may  be  termed  “  the  first  sphere  of  human  exist¬ 
ence.”  But  the  spirit  of  man  at  death  passes  away  to  another 
world  ;  which  is  termed,  very  naturally,  “  the  second  sphere.” 

But  where  is  this  sphere  located  7 

Look  again  at  those  beautif  ul  rings  surrounding  the  planet 
Saturn.  *  *  *  q'Pe  second  sphere  girdles  the  first  sphere, 

“  the  milky  wmy,”  just  as  the  rings  girdle  the  planet  Saturn. 
The  representation  is  perfect.”  (The  Present  Age  and  Inner 
Life,  pp.  273-6.) 

There  is  not  so  much  difficulty,  after  all,  “Judge,”  in  “un¬ 
derstanding  (or  describing)  locality  in  this  connection,”  when 
once  one  becomes  reasonably  clairvoyant.^  and  capable  of 
going  into  the  “  Inner  Life.”  The  young  Swedenborg  is  a 
much  better  geographer  than  the  old  one — such  is  the  effect 
of  “  progress.”  But  to  understand  “  how  the  Spirit-Land 
was  formed,” — truly,  “  hoc  opus,  hie  labor  est,”  equal  to  the 
hardest  of  the  twelve  which  so  illustrated  the  strength  of 


138 


Hercules,  “  (3ir)v  npaxXsoio this  labor,  however,  how  compara¬ 
tively  light ; — to  form,  actually  to  form,  the  Spirit-Land,  to 
evolve,  and  develop,  the  materials  of  it  !  Dii  immortales  ! 
what  a  more  than  Thomsonian  sweating  operation  it  must 
have  been  for  the  poor  toiling  planets  thus  to  provide  for  the 
souls  of  their  children  !  ! — to  “  perspire  like  the  human  body,” 
to  sweat  out,  a  quantity  of  “fine  invisible  particles,”  or  “in¬ 
sensible  perspiration,”  which,  when  condensed  into  solid  earth, 
and  rocks,  and  trees,  and  rivers,  and  mountains,  amounted  to 
“  exactly  ” — I  beg  pardon,  there  is  a  datura  or  two  wanting 
hero,  such  as  the  distance  and  thickness  of  the  Saturn-like 
ring — but,  say,  to  some  ten  hundred  thousand  million  times 
the  whole  quantity  of  matter  constituting  the  perspiring 
planets  !  !  !  truly,  “  J udge,”  here  is  a  “  difficulty,”  and  I  think 
I  shall  be  obliged  to  confess  that  the  labor  of  understandiiif^ 
is  not  less  than  that  of  doine;  it. 

However,  the  parallelism  betAveen  the  ancient  Elysium  and 
the  modern,  notAvithstanding  some  minor  discrepancies,  is,  on 
the  Avhole,  and  essentially,  very  striking  and  complete  ;  that 
is,  they  are  both  essentially  sensuous.  Their  relations  are  to 
the  physiological,  or  at  most  to  the  psychical,  to  the  spiritual 
in  man  not  at  all.  In  short  they  are  what  all  Christian  men 
have  ever,  and  AAdiat  all  Christian  consciousness  ever  Avill, 
denominate  “  a  fool’s  paradise.” 

It  is  quite  common  for  some  persons,  under  the  Neiv  Dis¬ 
pensation,  to  be  times  impelled,  that  is  moved  by  an  im¬ 
pulse,  in  the  physical  sense,  or  certainly  it  comes  very  near 
to  that,  and  in  some  cases  quite, — they  are  urged  and  as  it 
were,  driven  to  go  in  certain  directions  Avithout  any  conscious 
purpose,  and  AAuthout  knoAving  in  AAffiat  direction  they  are  to 
go,  all  of  which  is  curiously  coincident  Avith  such  ancient  facts 
as  the  following  : — 

“  The  effigy  of  the  Heliopolitan  god  is  carried  about  upon 
a  litter,  as  the  images  of  the  gods  are  borne  in  procession  at 
the  Circensian  games  ;  and  high  priests,  with  shaven  crowns, 
and  pure  by  continued  chastity,  pass  through  the  greater  part 


.139 


of  tlie  Province  ;  and  are  borne  along  by  a  divine  guidance, 
not  by  their  own  volition,  whithersoever  the  god  pmpels  those 
who  carry  him  ;  as  we  see  at  Antium  the  statues  of  Fortune 
move  foinvard  in  order  to  give  responses.”  (Macrobius  Satur- 
nal.  L.  i.  c.  23.) 

The  purpose  of  the  god  seems  to  have  been,  in  this  case,  to 
peddle  spiritual  communications,  a  sort  of  traveling  Medium 
for  whoever  might  choose  to  consult  him.  In  another  similar 
instance  of  impulsion  or  propulsion,  the  god  is  represented  as 
a  sort  of  charioteer,  (')ivio;)^£wv)  guiding  and  urging  those  who 
bore  him  as  a  driver  does  his  horses.  And  I  have  no  doubt 
that,  if  the  impressibles  or  propelables  would  now  bear  about 
with  them  “  wrapt  in  pure  linen,”  a  duly  consecrated  image, 
or  effigy,  of  their  propulsive  spirit — that,  they  would  find  the 
impulse,  or  propulsion,  much  stronger. 

The  ancients  were  in  the  habit  also  of  inquiring  after  the 
spirits  of  their  dead  friends  as  at  present.  Thus,  when  Ame- 
lius  inquired  of  Apollo  in  regard  to  the  soul  of  Plotinus,  the 
god  gave  response  in  a  poem  of  nearly  a  hundred  hexameters 
in  his  praise, — the  philosopher  seems  to  have  been  a  favorite 
of  his, — and  setting  forth  that  he  was  with  Plato  and  Pytha¬ 
goras  and  holy  daemons,  where  they  seem  to  have  been  in 
much  higher,  and  more  spiritual  (not  spirital)  relations  than 
those  of  any  modern  spirit ; — but  then  they  were  philosophers 
who  despised  matter,  and  body,  and  sense,  even  in  this  world. 
I  would  that  the  Judge,  instead  of  putting  faith  in  Sweden¬ 
borg  and  the  Pseudo-Bacon,  could  send  for  and  consult  them 
for  a  few  sittings, — were  they  not  so  far  up  in  “  the  intelligi¬ 
ble,”  above  the  sphere  of  his  sensuous,  sight-seeing,  apple¬ 
eating  spirits,  that  they  never  could  find  them, — I  think  he 
would  not  fall  as  much  below  even  the  half-developed  Christian 
conscionsness  in  his  record  of  spirital  relations  and  employ¬ 
ments,  or  in  his  theology,  as  he  does  now. 

It  was  also  the  fashion  anciently,  as  now,  to  make  use  of 
the  spirits  for  very  vulgar  purposes,  and  to  gratify  very  low 
or  selfish  ends. 


140 


“  Eut  by  those  who  have  tlevisecl  the  means  of  associating 
with  beings  more  excellent  than  man,  if  the  investigation  of 
this  subject  is  omitted,  (viz :  the  path  to  felicity)  wisdom  will 
be  professed  by  them  in  vain  ;  as  they  will  only  disturb  a  di¬ 
vine  intellect  about  the  discovery  of  a  fugitive  slave,  or  the 
purchase  of  land,  or  about  marriage,  or  merchandize  :  in  this 
case,  they  will  not  be  conversant  either  with  gods  or  good 
demons,  but  with  that  daemon  who  is  called  fraudulent ;  or, 
if  this  be  not  admitted,  the  whole  will  be  the  invention  of 
men,  and  the  fiction  of  a  mortal  nature.”  (Porphyry  to  the 
Egypt.  Anebo.) 

The  ancient  spirits,  however,  were  somewhat  more  digni¬ 
fied  than  the  modern  in  their  language  and  manners,  and 
physical  manifestations  true,  that  charioteering,  or  teaming 
the  priests  about,  was  a  little  earthly,  and  they  ivere  some¬ 
times  pretty  noisy,  and  threw  the  furniture  about  some,  in 
their  own  houses,  as  is  the  present  fashion  at  their  temple  in 
Broadway ;  but  to  go  into  private  dwellings,  to  slap  people 
on  the  face,  to  creep  into  the  pockets  of  venerable  Judges, 
and  knot  up  their  handkerchiefs,  to  pull  out  young  ladies’ 
hair-combs,  and  play  fantastic  tricks  with  their  dresses,  (See 
Spiritualism,  Introduction) — certainly,  so  far  as  I  know,  no 
ancient  spirits  were  in  the  habit  of  doing  such  things. 

Among  the  evidences,  relied  upon  at  present,  of  the  spirit- 
al  origin  of  the  manifestations,  is  the  fact  that  the  intelli¬ 
gence  connected  with  them,  asserts  itself  to  be  spirital.  The 
spirits  also  accredit  each  other’s  doctrines,  and  however  con¬ 
tradictory  they  may  be,  (much  more  so  than  those  of  the  an¬ 
cient  spirits)  there  is  no  difiiculty  in  getting  them  attested 
and  confirmed.  So  also  the  ancient  spirits  asserted  their 
personality,  and  their  knowledge  of  mens’  thoughts,  as,  “  I 
Phoebus,”  and  “  I  know  the  thoughts  within  the  dumb  con¬ 
cealed  and  they  also  accredited  each  other,  as  where  Apollo 
by  an  Oracle  (See  apud  Eusebium,)  sanctions  the  Egyptian, 
and  other  theurgy  and  Mysteries  ;  and,  in  general,  they  seem 


141 


to  have  been  much  more  harmonious  and  concordant  on  most 
subjects  than  at  present. 

The  parallel  between  the  ancient  heathen,  and  the  prsesent 
spirit-intercourse  migdit  be  extended  farther  by  adducing  more 
examples  under  most  of  the  difterent  heads,  or  by  going  more 
into  detail  in  some  respects.  And,  if,  instead  of  relying,  as 
we  must,  for  the  most  part,  upon  incidental  facts  and  allusions, 
scattered  widely  through  ancient  literature,  the  great  number 
of  ancient  books,  spoken  of  by  their  contemporaries,  as  writ¬ 
ten  expressly  on  this  subject,  had  come  down  to  us,  it  would 
doubtless  be  easy  to  present  it  in  a  more  full  and  orderly,  if 
not  scientific,  form.  For  it  is  spoken  of  as  a  science  by  the 
ancients  themselves,  Avho  assert  that  the  knowledge  obtained 
by  it  is  certain  and  reliable  in  spite  of  all  fraudulent  dae¬ 
mons.  Plowever  that  may  be,  one  thing  is  sufficiently  obvious, 
viz  :  that  the  present  form  of  it  is  quite  crude  and  immature 
in  comparison  wdth  its  fullest  ancient  development. 

Yet  the  similarity,  indeed  the  identity  of  the  tw'O  in  kind^ 
in  fact,  their  true  apocatastatic  relation  to  each  other,  has 
been,  I  trust,  demonstrated,  and  made  certain,  beyond  all 
doubt,  cavil,  or  evasion ;  for  what,  I  would  inquire,  except  a 
return  in  large  numbers  of  the  “  stars  celestial,  genitors  of 
all  events,”  to  the  same  apocatastatic  position,  ojjening  in 
some  way  the  celestial  avenues,  could  cause  such  a  sudden 
and  tumultuous  re-descent  of  spirits,  with  the  consequent 
repetition  of  the  same  phenomena  as  in  ancient  times  ? — as 
the  same  thick  showier  of  meteors  is  repeated  annually  at  the 
same  season,  that  is,  at  an  astral  apocatastasis  on  a  smaller 
scale. 


CHAPTER  XIL 


It  is  all  one  as  if  they  had  said  -^  *  *  *  *  *  heathenry,  paganisme, 
scurrillitie,  and  divelric  itself  is  equal  with  God’s  word  ;  or  that  Sathan  is  equi¬ 
pollent  with  the  Lord.  Prynne.  Histrio-Mastix. 

Quare,  ut  optimi  medici  conclamatis  desperatisque  corporibus  non  adhibent 
medentes  manus,  ne  nihil  profutura  curatio  doloribus  spatia  promulget ;  ita  eos, 
quorum  animffi  vitiis  imbutaj  sunt,  nee  curari  queunt  medicina  sapientice,  eos 
mori  prsestat.  Apuleius  De  Habitud.  Lib.  ii. 

As  the  best  physicians  do  not,  in  hopeless  cases,  attempt  a  cure,  lest  they 
only  prolong  the  sufferings  of  the  patient ;  even  so,  those  whose  minds  are 
contaminated  with  vicious  opinions  beyond  the  remedial  power  of  timth,  may 
as  well  be  let  alone. 


Gentlemen  Spiritists,  you  I  mean  who  willingly  believe  in, 
extol  and  promote  what  you  call  the  “  New  Dispensation,’’ 
who  believe  that  “  the  manifestations  ”  are  caused  by  the 
agency  of  spirits,  not  only,  but,  in  the  main,  by  that  of  good 
spirits,  insomuch  that  you  are  thence  enabled  to  make  out  a 
reliable  description  of  the  abodes  and  employments  of  the 
dead,  and  especially,  to  derive  from  their  communications  a 
true  theology  and  religion, — this  latter,  far  beyond  compari¬ 
son,  or  parallel,  the  most  important  and  serious  of  all  subjects, 
— I  intended,  when  I  commenced  this  present  writing,  after 


143 


a  little  harmless  apocatastatical  preluding,  a  sort  of  light- 
aired  voluntary,  as  some  Church-Organs  extemporize  snatches 
of  old  love  ditties,  or  fragments  of  war  songs,  before  sermon, 
“  for  why  should  the  Devil  have  all  the  good  tunes  ?” — I  in¬ 
tended,  I  say,  out  of  a  very  serious  subject,  to  make  a  very 
serious  “  Tract but  my  unfortunate — if  such  is  the  proper 
term — my  unfortunate  organization,  education,  associations, 
and  other  unpropitious  surroundings, — for  I  was  brought  up 
among  the  “  sects,”  and  to  reverence  the  Bible — these  ele¬ 
ments  of  my  inner  man  coming  into  contact  and  combination 
with  the  spirital  facts  and  spirital  theories  which  have  turned 
up  to  my  investigation ;  the  product  has  been  such  as  quite 
to  disperse  my  natural  gravity,  and  have  impelled  me — 
should  I  not  rather  say  co7?ipelled  me — to  write,  thus  far, 
as  I  have  written.  I  am  not  much  in  the  habit  of  speaking 
with  levity  of  any  man’s  religion,  erroneous  though  I  may 
reckon  it,  yet  in  this  case,  I  do  not  see  that  an  apology 
is  due,  or  fitting,  even  though,  on  sober  second  thought, 
I  were  conscious  of  impropriety  or  indecorum,  which  I  am 
not, - certainly,  an  apology  cannot  without  gross  incon¬ 

sistency  be  demanded,  or  expected  by  men  who  would  per¬ 
suade  me  that  I  have  no  responsibilities  different  in  kind 
from  those  of  a  tree  or  an  animal,  that  in  all  my  relations  I 
am,  like  the  tree  or  the  animal,  wholly  subject  to  the  laws  of 
Nature,  and  therefore  must  act  as  I  am  acted  upon  ;  men  in 
whose  theory  “  man  is  a  part  of  Nature  ”  whose  philosophy, 
or  theology,  never  ascends  out  of  nature^  never  rises  above 
the  merely  physiological,  certainly  not  above  the  psychical, 
and  never  reaches  at  all  the  truly  spiritual  sphere  of  respon¬ 
sibility,  and  so  gives  no  place,  furnishes  no  ground,  for  an 
action  which  can  justly  or  legitimately  owe  an  apology, — for 
Avho  would  expect  an  apology  from  his  horse  or  his  dog,  or 
his  peach  trees  ?  Besides,  this  tract  is  not  addressed  to  you, 
— with  the  exception  of  the  present  chapter,  which  is  inten- 
ted  to  be  a  serious  one — nor  written  for  your  benefit,  as  in¬ 
deed  this  chapter  is  not,  although  my  benevolence  Avould 


144 


prompt  me — excuse  the  egotism— to  attempt  to  do  you  good, 
had  I  the  slightest  hope  of  being  able  to  accomplish  it,  in 
regard  to  the  subject  under  consideration.  Yet  I  beg  leave 
with  all  due  respect  both  to  you  and  to  your  spirit  friends,  to 
ask  a  few  questions,  and  address  a  few  remarks,  to  you,  and 
to  them  if  they  choose,  which,  perchance  may  benefit  some 
others. 

You  believe  that  communications  true  and  valid  are  often 
made  to  you  by  the  spirits  of  the  dead,  and  that  they  often 
truly  foretell  future  events,  that  is,  that  you  have  a  veritable 
and  reliable  necromancy  ;  (vsxpoiaavrsia)  you  believe  that  such 
communications  as  those,  for  instance,  in  the  body  of  the  late 
Avork  called  “  Spiritualism  were  made  by  the  celestially 
instructed,  and  thereby  highly  and  deeply  developed,  and  far 
progressed  spirits  of  the  men  from  Avhom  they  purport  to 
come  ;  also  that  the  communications  in  the  appendix  of  that 
Avork  said  to  have  been  uttered  by  Webster  and  Clay  through 
borroAved  vocal  organs,  are  the  genuine  productions  and  pre¬ 
dictions  of  the  spirits  of  those  men  ;  also  that  the  spirit  of 
the  haughty  and  dignified  Calhoun  condescended  to  play 
fantastic  tricks  under  the  table,  as  there  recorded.  Your  be¬ 
lief,  gentlemen,  in  the  true  authenticity  and  genuineness  of 
these  communications — far  more  AAmnderful,  incomparably 
more  incredible  to  me  than  any  thing  contained  in  that  book 
— has  gone  far  to  convince  me  of  the  reality  of  spirit-influ¬ 
ence, — for  among  all  the  facts  of  psychology  Avith  AA’hich  I 
have  become  acquainted,  judged  of  by  Avhatever  knoAvledge 
of  the  laAvs  of  mind  I  have  been  able  to  acquire — not  alto¬ 
gether  uninvestigating  or  unmeditative  on  such  subjects — 
this  belief  of  yours  is  by  far — “  far  as  from  the  centre  thrice 
to  the  utmost  pole  ” — the  most  extraordinary,  the  most  un¬ 
accountable,  by  the  vulgar  and  every-day  laAvs  of  nature,  and 
therefore  the  most  demanding  for  its  explanation  the  interpo¬ 
sition  of  the  gods  or  of  some  other  spirits.  However,  you 
believe  in  these,  and  innumerable — numerous  almost  as  the 
oracles  of  Apollo — other  such-like  phenomena,  which  you 


145 


sometimes  call  the  New  Era,  the  new  development,  and  more 
emphatically  the  “  New  Dispensation.”  I  trust  however, 
that  you  are  satisfied  it  is  not  new  in  any  essential  particu¬ 
lar  ;  indeed,  when  it  suits  your  purpose  ^mu  can,  and  do,  claim 
the  authority  of  antiquity  for  it.  Now  if  your  spirit-theory 
rests  on  evidence  which  ought  to  command  our  credence,  and 
your  spirit-responses  are  reliable,  much  more,  the  ancient 
pagan  spirit-theories  and  responses,  by  reason  of  longer  con¬ 
tinued,  and  more  full  evidence  of  the  same  kind,  ought,  in  all 
logical  minds,  in  point  of  proof  and  reliability,  to  take  prece¬ 
dence  of  yours. 

Are  you  then  ready — and  how  should  you  not  be,  even  as 
you  value  that  “jewel”  consistency? — with  Mr.  Thomas  Tay¬ 
lor,  to  go  over  from  Jehovah  to  Jupiter? — No,  not  from  Jeho¬ 
vah,  “  the  Jewish  God  is  the  creation  of  the  nether  portions  of 
the  brain,”  according  to  the  Coryphseus  of  your  quire  ;  you 
have  “  progressed  ”  far  beyond  Him — -but  from  your  great 
central  germ,  and  involuntary  circulating  iSIedium  of  the  uni¬ 
verse,  from  your  “  Principle,”  and  “  identification  of  spirit  with 
matter,”  are  you  ready  to  go  over  to  Jupiter  and  Minerva,  and 
worship  the  sun  and  the  planets,  and  other  Dii  Majores  et  Mi- 
nores  ?  Truly,  gentlemen,  the  difference  is  not  great ;  it  is 
but  breaking  the  “  Soul  of  the  world  ”  a  little  into  fragments, 
a  “  disintegration  ”  obvious,  natural  and  necessary. 

And  why  should  not  such  magnificent  combinations  of  the 
“  Eternal  Cause  and  the  Eternal  Effect  ”  as  are  exhibited  in 
the  Sun,  and  Saturn,  for  instance,  that  “  best  planet  in  our 
solar  system,”  be  recognized  and  honored  as  divine  as  well  as 
the  sum  total  of  such  combinations  ?  So  did  the  ancients, 
only  making  practical  your  principles  as  well  as  their  own. 
True,  they  personified  more  than  you  do  ;  but  were  those  phil 
osophic  men,  with  so  much  more  science  and  experience  in 
spirit-intercourse  than  you  can  pretend  to,  and  with  a  power 
of  analytic  logic  and  intense  thought  which  would  put  to 
shame  you  and  all  your  spirits — were  those  men,  Avho  con- 

held  audible  and  visible  intercourse  with  these  very 

19 


146 


gods,  (who  probably  knew  as  much  about  themselves  as  mod¬ 
ern  spirits)  deceived  in  their  deology,  divology,  or  spiritology  ? 
And  did  not  spirits  of  lower  rank  recognise  and  acknowledge 
the  existence  of  these  divinities,  as  yours  do  that  of  the  presi¬ 
dents  of  the  celestial  phalansteries  ?  If  now  these  were  all 
lying  spirits,  and  these  ancient  believers  were  all  duped  by 
them — as  you  must  confess,  or  else — for  consistency  is  a 
jewel — adopt  the  attendant  dogmata  and  ritual — with  what 
face  can  you  ask  iis  to  believe  yoiw  spirits,  who,  judged  by 
the  ancient  spirit-canons  and  tests,  much  more  strict  and  sci¬ 
entific  than  yours,  are  all  found  to  be  “  depraved  and  evil  dae¬ 
mons.”  Please,  now,  do  not  evade  a  fair  question — were  the 
ancients  deceived  in  this  matter  of  spirit-intercourse  and 
spirit-teaching  ?  if  no,  then  recognise  and  obey  the  ancient 
teachings  ;  if  yes,  then  by  what  arguments  are  you  to  con¬ 
vince  us  that  you  are  not  dupes  also  ?  You  will  not  however 
be  persuaded,  even  by  Mr.  Thomas  Taylor,  to  go  over  to  Jupi¬ 
ter  and  Apollo,  at  least  not  at  present,  ultimately  I  think  you 
will,  for  you  already  begin  to  talk  of  the  “  gods  ”  and  the 
“  semidivine  ”  in  the  spheres,  but  you  are  not  now  quite  ready 
for  the  whole  pagan  divology  and  ritual,  yet  you  have  the  ig¬ 
norance  or  the  effrontery  to  bring  back,  and  offer  to  us  as  a 
new  revelation,  and  substitute  for  Christianity,  the  dregs  of 
the  ethico-religious  theories  which  belong  to,  and  went  along 
with,  this  pagan  divology,  and  that  too  with  the  same  sneers 
at  Christianity  with  which  your  apocatastatic  predecessors 
defended  as  better  than  it  a  higher  form  of  these  same  theo¬ 
ries.  Do  you  believe  that  men  not  wholly  ignorant  of  history 
will  accept  this  pagan  patchwork,  which  the  spirits  have  fished 
up  from  the  limbo  of  things  lost,  as  something  new  and  “  never 
before  vouchsafed  to  mortal  man.”  Do  you  expect  to  resusci¬ 
tate,  wherewith  to  attack  Christianity  anew,  this  dead  heath¬ 
enism,  which  of  old  was  suffocated  and  expired  by  the  stench 
of  its  own  iioisomeness,  so  soon  as  Christianity  could  expose 
to  the  sun  its  foetid  corruptions  and  rottenness  ?  do  you  think 
now  to  frighten  Christianity  from  its  propriety  by  raising 


tlie  ghost  of  this  dead  champion  ?  Surely,  quern  Deus  vult 
perdere,  prius  dementat,  as  of  old,  or  else  how  could  you  tole¬ 
rate  for  a  moment,  how  could  you  publish  and  annotate,  how 
could  you  present  to  the  consideration  of  rational  men,  such 
insane  bablile,  such  pantheistic  nonsense,  such  a  travestic  of 
Democrito-epicurean  day-dreams,  such  a  “Vestiges  of  Crea 
tion  ”  run  mad,  as  is  the  Cosmoo:onv  of  “Nature’s  Divine 
Revelations  ?  ”  And  yet,  I  know  of  nothing  you  have  from 
the  spirits,  which,  as  compared  with  Christianity,  is  any  more 
worthy  of  attention,  or  indeed,  which  is  more  reliable  or  bet¬ 
ter  accredited — for  is  not  the  account  of  one  who  laying  aside 
the  body  for  a  time,  has  visited  the  spheres,  travelled  through 
all  time  and  space,  and  comes  back  to  give  their  history  and 
geography  in  his  own  person  as  worthy  of  acceptance  as  that 
of  a  spirit  resident,  who,  as  you  yourselves  say,  can  communi¬ 
cate  what  he  knows  only  very  imperfectly  through  the  organs 
of  another? 

You  and  your  spirits  speak  with  bitter  hatred,  and  with 
the  most  vulgar  ribaldry  of  Christianity,  and  of  all  its  friends  \ 
indeed,  they  and  the  legislators  are  the  cause  of  most  of  the 
evils  which  exist  among  men — for,  somehow,  the  development 
of  the  inherent  goodness  of  the  “  disintegrated  ”  fragment  of 
the  “  great  germ,”  which  exists  in  Man,  has  been,  always  and 
everywhere,  for  the  most  part,  and  still  is,  repressed,  or  comes 
forth  in  the  form  of  evil,  through  the  wickedness  of  men — and 
yet,  notwithstanding  your  instinctive,  manifest,  and  palpable 
hatred  of  Christianity,  you  have  the  impudence  to  claim  its 
Author  as  one  of  your  Mediums,  as  did  your  heathen  proto¬ 
types  before  you.  You  profess  to  look  upon  Christ  as  a  man 
perfect  beyond  all  modern  example,  hence  a  capital  Medium, 
and  one  who,  according  to  your  theory,  must  have  received  his 
instructions  and  communications  from  the  very  highest  sour¬ 
ces  ;  pray  how  do  you  reconcile  it  with  the  character  of  a  man 
even  of  common  honesty — if  he  was  only  what  you  and  the 
spirits  represent  him  to  be — that  he  made  such  wholly  false 
pretensions — as,  that  he  came  down  from  heaven,  that  he  was 


148 


before  Abraham,  that  he  would  raise  the  dead  and  judge 
them,  that  he  had  all  power  in  heaven  and  earth?  Was  all 
this  only  an  oriental  way  of  speaking,  meaning  that  he  was 
one  of  your  preexistent  germs,  and  that  being  a  good  Medium 
and  Clairvoyant  he  thence  derived  the  “  knowledge  which  is 
power  ?  ”  Moreover,  deriving  his  doctrines — yourselves  being 
judges — from  the  very  fountain,  or  from  a  higher  source  than 
is  possible  for  any  other  man,  how  is  it  that  his  essential 
teachings  are  so  wholly  subversive  of  your  own  ?  was  his  God 
the  great  Germ  of  Nature,  the  Soul  of  the  World,  an  imper¬ 
sonal  Principle,  operating  involuntarily  throughout  the  vast 
machine, 

“  Whose  Body  Nature  is,  and  God  the  Soul  ?” 
a  god  towards  whom  it  is  impossible  to  be  conscious  of  any 
moral  or  sjnritiLal  (in  the  Christian  sense)  obligation,  or  in¬ 
deed  to  hold  any  spiritual  relations  ;  for  who  would  not  be 
amused  at  the  thought  of  spiritual  responsibility  to  the  law  of 
gravity,  for  instance,  or  at  the  suggestion  of  his  duty  to  offer 
gratitude,  or  religious  homage,  to  that  beneficent  “  Law  of 
Nature,”  although  in  relation  to  him,  and  for  him,  it  works 
out  and  exhibits,  (at  least  in  sjnrital  language)  Justice.  Mercy, 
Wisdom,  Truth,  Love,  Goodness  ?  Is  such  the  God  whom 
Christ  came  to  declare  ?  And  do  liis  teachings  express  or 
imply  the  impossibility  of  the  existence  of  sin  in  any  spiritu¬ 
al  sense  ?  and  does  he  accordingly  apologise  for  it,  as  the 
unfortunate  result  of  circumstances,  and  as  deserving  pity, 
and  not  punishment  ?  and  tell  us  that  the  wicked  will  be,  in 
the  next  world,  simply  not  quite  as  happy  at  first  as  others  ? 
— or  rather,  your  doctrine  is  that — not  the  wicked^  of  which 
in  your  opinion,  there  «re,  and  by  your  theory,  there  can  Z>e, 
none,  but  the  “unprogressed,”  will  be  where  some  others 
might  not  be  happy  ;  but  since  they  have  their  choice,  and 
inasmuch  as  happiness  is  wholly  a  matter  of  taste,  they  can 
hardly  be  said  to  be  less  happy  than  others,— did  Christ 
teach  that  the  belief  of  religious  truth  is  not  an  act  of  choice, 
and  that  therefore  there  is  no  obligation  to  believe  what  is 


149 


not  “  matliematically  demonstrated  ”  to  the  understanding  ? 
and  did  he  accordingly  encourage  men  to  ask  for  a  sign,  and 
to  expect  one  to  rise  from  the  dead,  as  often  as  they  had  a 
doubtful  question  to  he  answered,  or  a  morbid  and  profane 
curiosity  to  he  gratified  ?  Did  he  himself  consult  the  psycho¬ 
metric  Mediums  around  him,  whose  spirits  cried  out  at  his 
presence,  “ we  know  thee  who  thou  art?  Art  thou  come  to 
torment  us  before  the  time?”  Did  Christ,  while  his  mouth 
was  filled  with  beautiful  Epicurean  aesthetico-ethical  small 
talk,  and  Carlyleish  sing-song  of  the  “  Eternal  Laws,”  at  the 
same  time,  dig  doAvn,  and  subvert,  the  very  foundations  of  all 
spiritual  righteousness  and  religion  ?  Did  he  preach  nothing 
beyond  your  merely  zoological,  or  apiary  virtues,  and  enforce 
or  urge  the  practice  of  them  by  the  promise  of  Mohamedan 
gardens,  and  other  beautiful  and  most  delightful  paradises, 
for — Animals  ?  Is  it  possible  that  such  a  substitute  for 
Christianity  can  be  deliberately  offered,  ivith  sneers  at  “  old 
mythological  religions,”  by  sane  men,  to  a  Christian  people? 
or  that  any  Christian  man  can  contemplate  it,  without  the 
mingled  feelings  of  astonishment,  grief,  scorn,  pity,  and  “right¬ 
eous  indignation,”  at  so  monstrous,  and  impious  a  proposition  ? 
With  such  an  “improvement”  upon  Christianity,  as  I  suppose 
you  call  it,  or  a  “  progressed  ”  Christianity, — for  some  of  you 
arc  very  indignant  at  the  suggestion  of  a  doubt  in  regard  to 
your  being  Christians  ;  indeed,  you  condescendingly  propose 
to  reaffirm  the  fundamental  truths  of  Christianity,  “  clarified 
from  error,” — Avith  such  a  dead  heathenism,  mingled  Avith  a 
maimed  Christianity,  and  that  robbed  of  its  vital  principle, 
and  cut  off  at  the  root,  how  dare  you  appeal  to  Christ  as 
among  those  Avho  confirm  your  doctrines  ?  Well, — and  truly, 
for  once, — may  your  spirits  inform  you  that  they  never  have 
seen  Christ,  and  you  might  perhaps  learn  from  other  quite  as 
reliable  sources,  that,  probably,  they  never  Avill.  You  seem 
fond  of  appropriating  the  language  of  Christians  ;  everything 
Avith  you  is  “  s'piritualP  Had  you  studied  Christianity  in¬ 
stead  of  vituperating  it ;  had  you  “  progressed  ”  by  the  devel- 


150 


opine nt  of  your  own  spiritual  being,  instead  of  talking  so 
mncli  of  “  Progression  you  would,  by  this  time,  have  dis¬ 
covered  that  your  “  Ncav  Dispensation^^’  as  you  falsely  and 
profanely  call  it,  so  far  from  being  spiritual.,  never  anywhere 
rises  above  the  merely  psychical,  that  it  neither  recognizes  nor 
provides  for — rather  excludes  from  its  very  idea — truly  spir- 
itnal  relations. — However,  it  were  idle  to  attempt  to  make 
you  understand  the  Christian  definition  of  that  word  ;  for  how 
is  it  possible  for  jam  to  apprehend  that,  which  to  know,  re¬ 
quires  the  exercise  of  fiiculties  still  latent  ?  You  appeal  very 
triumphantly  to  your  evidence  of  the  mathematical  certainty, 
and  “ 7-eoZ  ”  of  spirit-intercourse  and  spirit-responses, 

hly  purpose  does  not  require  me  at  all  to  dispute  the  fact  . 
but  do  you  not  perceive  that  the  “  real  reality,”  and  tnith  of 
the  said  responses,  in  regard  to  things  otherwise  unknown,  in 
regard,  that  is,  to  the  new  (“  so  called,”)  teachings  of  the 
Disjiensation,  do  not  thence,  by  any  means,  follow  ?  Ho  you  I— 
not  perceive — no,  excuse  me,  you  cannot,  seeing  perceive 
what  is  nevertheless  true, — that  for  the  Christian  conscious- 
ness  no  supposable  quantity  or  degree  of  the  evidence  you 
speak  of,  accompanied  by  the  doctrines  you  teach, — should 
your  circles  be  seen  daily,  or  nightly,  floating  and  gyrating  in 
the  air,  and  chanting  paeans  in  honor  of  their  patron  spirits  ; 
should  the  said  spirits  personally  appear,  robed  in  the  real 
lamblichian  halo,  and  by  voluntary  oath  or  affirmation,  attest 
each  others  truth  and  veracity  ; — should  all  this,  and  still 
more  astonishing  new  developments  of  the  laws  of  nature  oc¬ 
cur,  it  would  only  prove  to  the  Christian  intellect  and  con¬ 
sciousness,  the  existence  of  a  daemonopathy  of  which  false¬ 
hood  is  the  natural  produet. 

But,  the  tree  is  knoAvn  by  its  fruit,  and  your  healing  Me¬ 
diums,  your  possessed  or  obsessed  people,  as  you  assert  them 
to  be,  restore  the  sick,  and  do  undeniable  cures.  There  is  no 
occasion  to  doubt  it.  The  ancient  theurgists,  and  heathen 
Mediums  also  did  the  same,  (see  Vita  Apollonii.)  and  even 
Roman  Emperors,  who  are  not  usually  reckoned  a  very  pious 


151 


class  of  men.  (Tacitus)  So  also,  does  every  riew  patent 
medicine,  and  new  medical  theory.  It  were  an  excellent 
stock  in  trade  for  a  “  Curiosity  Shop,”  to  fish  up,  from  “  the 
deep  deep  sea  ”  of  the  past,  hut  a  titlie  of  the  medical  “  infal- 
libles  ”  which  lie  buried  there,  and  which  infallibly  cured 
thousands  upon  thousands  in  their  time.  Here  is  one  as  good, 
and  as  marvellous  in  its  elfcets,  as  any  of  the  spirit-recipes  ; 
— for  wdiy  ?  it  is  also  of  celestial  origin. 

“  An  admirahle  Oyntment  for  Wounds.'’^ 

“  Take  of  Moss  that  grownth  upon  a  Scull,  -  -  ii.  oz. 

Of  Man’s  Grease,  --------  ii.  oz. 

Of  Mummy,  and  Man’s  Blood,  each,  -  -  oz.  ss. 

Linseed  Oyl,  -  --  --  --  --  ii.  Drach. 

Oyl  of  Roses,  <Sc  Bole-Armoniack,  each,  -  i.  oz. 

Let  them  be  all  beat  together  in  a  Morter  so  long,  until 
they  come  to  a  most  pure  and  subtil  Oyntment ;  then  keep  it 
in  a  Box.  And  when  any  wound  happens,  dip  a  stick  of  wood 
in  the  blood  that  it  may  be  bloody  ;  which  being  dyed,  thrust 
it  quite  into  the  aforesaid  Oyntment,  and  leave  it  therein  ; 
afterwards  binde  up  the  wound  with  a  new  Linen  Rowler, 
every  morning  washing  it  with  the  Patient’s  own  urine  ;  and 
it  shall  be  healed,  be  it  never  so  great,  without  any  Plaister, 
or  Pain.  After  this  manner  you  may  Cure  any  one  that  is 
wounded,  though  he  be  ten  miles  distant  from  you,  if  you  have 
but  his  blood.  It  helpeth  also  other  griefs,  as  the  pain  in 
the  Teeth  and  other  hurts,  if  you  have  a  stick  wet  in  the 
Blood,  and  thrust  into  the  Oyntment,  and  there  left.  These 
are  the  wonderful  gifts  of  God,  given  for  the  use  and  health 
of  man.”  {Paracelsus  of  Celestial  Aledicines.) 

There  are  other  by-gone  specifics,  innumerable  as  the  ora¬ 
cles  of  Apollo,  equal  to  tJris,  in  mystic  virtues  ;  and  let  not 
any  prudish  recent  Unguent  stink  contemptfully,  or  medical 
infidel  sneer,  or  modern  healing  Medium  turn  up  its  nose, — 
for  these^  also,  each  in  its  time,  could  boast  of  undeniable  and 
undoubted  cures,  at  least,  no  one  competent  to  form  a  correct 


152 


opinion  will  be  disposed  to  doubt  tlie  reality  of  them.  And 
yet,  notwithstanding  the  “immutability  of  the  laws  of  nature,” 
and  that  “  retrogression  is  an  impossibility,”  in  a  short  time, 
such  things  are  no  longer  heard  of,  and  sick  men  are  fain  to  fall 
back  into  the  hands  ot  the  disciples  of  Hippocrates,  and  un¬ 
der  the  vulgar  and  every-day  laws  of  Nature.  I  was  once 
cognizant  of  a  new  development  on  a  small  scale  where  the 
subjects  of  it  were  under  the  direction,  not  of  the  spirits,  but 
of  “  the  spirit.”  “  The  spirit  ”  directed  them  to  heal  the  sick 
which  they  did — in  one  case  “  the  spirit  ”  directed  them  to  go 
to  a  woman  who  had  been  eight  years  bed-ridden,  and  to  com¬ 
mand  her  to  arise  and  walk  ;  they  obediently  did  so,  and  the 
woman  arose  and  walked.  Thereupon  “the  spirit”  feeling 
itself  strong,  commanded  them  to  raise  the  dead,  but  on  this 
occasion  “  the  spirit  ”  proved  to  have  more  courage  than  con¬ 
duct.  These  people  were  wholly,  in  all  their  relations,  under 
the  direction  of  “  the  spirit,”  and  were  immaculately  holy; 
but  alas  for  divine  and  sinless  human  nature,  “  in  unfortunate 
circumstances,”  “the  spirit”  directed  brother  B.,  to  take 
brother  F’s  wdfe,  and  brother  C.,  to  take  Miss  B.,  for  their 
^spiritual  partners,”  &.C.,  Ac.,  of  which  spiritual  unions  fol¬ 
lowed  results  much  more  physiological  than  spiritual.  There¬ 
upon  this  development— for  bigotry  and  intolerance  are  not 
yet  wholly  eradicated  from  among  men — was  suppressed. 

There  is  a  principle  as  old  as  “  the  primitive  history,”  or 
“  excellent  soft  bark,”  as  some  of  you  call  the  Bible,  reasser¬ 
ted  by  Christ,  insisted  upon  most  bigotedly,  as  you  must 

>  think,  by  St.  Paul,  more  modestly  by  other  Apostles,  reitera-  ^ 

>  ted  in  modern  times  especially  by  Pascal :  to  the  eftect  that  ^ 
the  miracle  is  to  be  judged  of  by  the  doctrine,  and  not  the  ^ 

y  doctrine  by  the  miracle.  These  are  not  red-letter  names  in  ^ 
your  calender,  and  their  opinions,  I  am  aware,  Avill  not  be 
authoritative  Avith  you,  but,  as  I  said  before,  this  Chapter 
though  addressed  to  you,  is  not  Avritten  for  you.  What  then 
>  are  your  doctrines  ?  A  pantheistic  theology,  the  identification 
y  of  God  Avith  Matter,  or,  a  Soul  of  the  World,  or  vital  Princi- 


/V  /V  A. 


153 


pie  of  the  Universe  ; — hence,  man’s  responsibility  is  only  to 
the  Laws  of  Nature  ;  the  denial,  consequently,  of  the  fact  of 
true  spiritual  relations,  of  the  existence  of  sin  and  guilt,  with 
an  attempt  to  show  that  the  universal  consciousness  of  hu¬ 
manity  on  this  point  is  fallacious  and  false  ; — the  reiteration 
>  of  the  so  often  exploded  falsehood,  that  man,  having  no  fi  ee 
will^  is  but  an  involuntary  and  irresponsible  link  in  the  end¬ 
less  chain  of  Nature  ; — the  reassertion,  therefore,  of  the  pri¬ 
mal  lie  of  Eden — “  Ye  shall  not  surely  die  — the  physical 
demonstration,  for  as  many  as  comprehend  interiorly  the  im¬ 
mutable  laws  of  Nature,  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul ;  be¬ 
cause  it  is  perfectly  obvious  from  the  “  inherent  and  immuta¬ 
ble  laws  of  progression,”  that  every  particle  of  matter  in  the 
Universe  ascending  through  multifarious  forms,  from  the 
angular  to  the  circular,  from  the  circular  to  the  spiral,  and  so 
on  to  the  spiritual,  “  will  ultimately  pass  to  the  perfection  of 
a  spiritual  essence  — allurement  to  virtue  by  the  promise  of 
delicious  oriental  paradises,  after  death,  of  which  however  the 
most  vicious,  as  well  as  the  virtuous,  may  take  their  choice  in 

the  spheres ; - this  linsy-woolsy  tissue  of  ancient  and  modern 

sophistry,  absurdity,  and  impiety,  sugared  over  with  sickly 
sentimentalism,  and  milk-and-water  morality,  with  the  privi¬ 
lege  of  perpetual  appeal,  for  its  true  interpretation,  to  the 
re-established  pagan  oracles,  and  ancient  necromancy  revived  ; 
— this.  Gentlemen  Spiritists,  tins ! !  is  your  substitute  for 
Christianity,  your  remedy  for  all  the  ills  of  humanity,  your 
panacea  for  the  diseases  of  society,  your  Grand  Catholicon, 
Matchless  Sanative,  and  Elixir  Vitm,  for  the  regeneration, 
reorganization,  and  earthly  perfection  of  mankind. 

But  these  doctrines  and  principles  seem  not,  at  first  sight, 
at  least  to  ordinary  minds,  at  all  calculated  to  produce  the 
effects  promised  from  them,  the  specific  not  at  all  adapted  to 
the  disease.  Hoav  then  comes  it  that  such  magnificent  results 
are  so  confidently  predicted  from  the  effect  of  such  apparently 
inadequate  causes?  Why,  plainly,  just  as  in  chemistry,  the 
mixing  of  tAvo  fluids  will  sometims,  most  unexpectedly  to  the 

20 


154 


non-scientific  observer —and,  indeed,  to  the  scientific  also, 
until  after  experiment,— produce  a  solid,  or  the  rubbing  to¬ 
gether  of  two  solids  produce  a  fluid  ;  and  as  in  medicine,  the 
physician  is  astonished  at  first  to  find  some  of  the  most  taste¬ 
less,  and  as  he  would  think,  inert,  substances  produce  the 
most  energetic  effects  ;  even  so,  in  moral  pathology,  remedies 
must  be  at  first  empirical;  and  here,  especially,  “foolish 
things,”  that  is,  things  which  one  would  not  suspect  to  have 
any  such  latent  virtues,  are  sometimes  found,  it  is  said,  to 
prove  most  successful— by  experiment.  The  old  adage,  “ne- 
mium  ne  crede  color!  ”  don’t  trust  to  appearances,  is,  no  doubt, 
therefore,  as  true  in  morals  as  anywhere  else.  It  is  obvious 
then,  gentlemen  Spiritists,  that  your  confidence  in  spiritism  is 
not  the  result  of  any  rash  and  incautious  theorising,  a  conclu¬ 
sion  drawn  from  ill-established  premises,  but  that  you  have 
followed  the  true  Baconian  method,  in  short,  that  it  is  found¬ 
ed  on  experience.  I  had,  for  the  moment,  well  nigh  forgotten, 
that,  among  other  apocatastatic  coincidences,  the  very  same 
doctrines  which  you  teach,  authenticated  and  confirmed  by  the 
very  same  methods,  backed,  and  sustained  by  the  same  ener- 

accompanied  by  the 

same  scientific  and  commercial  activities,  practically  applied 

on  the  largest  scale,  to  the  same  public  improvements  and 

facilities,  and  to  the  same  assthetic  civilization ;— these  same 

doctrines,  aided  by  the  same  attendants  and  circumstances, 

were  tried  in  their  effects  upon  the  morals  of  the  communities’ 

of  the  ancient  period,  on  a  very  large  scale,  and  with  very 

uniform  results.  Certainly,  the  trial  was  sufficiently  long, 

and  sufficiently  varied,  to  be  quite  satisfactory.  You  have, 

theiefore,  I  admit,  an  undeniable,  and  inalienable,  right  to 

appeal  to  experience  against  all  gainsayers.  And  the  "result 

of  that  experiment,— how  admirable!!  Surely,  you  must 

admire  it,  and  therefore  you  are  so  desirous  to  bring  again 

into  full  operation  the  causes  which  produced  it.  The  morals 

of  old  Rome  the  Mother  of  arms  !  from  the  palace  of  the 

Cffisars,  down  to  the  ergastulum,  and  the  studies !  of  the 

1 


f 


155 

gladiators  ;  the  morals  of  Athens  !  the  Mother  of  Arts  !-— 
the  morals  of  Antioch !  the  seat  of  the  politest  ancient  civili¬ 
zation,  the  Paris  of  antiquity, — the  morals  of  Alexandria  ! 
the  gate  of  ancient  Commerce  ! — the  ancient  Republic,  the 
Empire,  in  all  their  provinces, — how  exempt  from  social  and 
political  depravities  ! — how  free  from  the  mis-organizations  of 
society  to  which  you  attribute  most  modern  misdemeanors  ! — 
how  “  progressed  ”  almost  to  obedience  to  that  Law  of  Asso¬ 
ciation  and  Brotherhood  which  is  your  summum  bonum  for 
this  world  and  the  next !  This  morality,  this  legitimate  and 
admirable  result  of  ancient  spiritism,  how  desirable  that  it 
should  take  the  place  of  the  modern  tame,  timid,  moral  pru¬ 
dery,  “  cabined,  cribbed,  confined,”  shorn  of  its  fair  propor¬ 
tions,  and  restrained  of  its  “  free  development,”  by  “  the 
gloomy  dogmas  ”  of  the  old  mythological  religion  !”  how  de¬ 
sirable  !  how  desirable  !  !  and  when,  as  the  spirits  trium¬ 
phantly  promise,  faith  in  the  New  Dispensation  shall  have 
become  “  universal,”  then  shall  that  (by  you)  devoutly  wished 
for  consummation  be  realized  ! — then  shall  our  apocatastatic 
period  have  completed  itself,  and  have  come  back,  full  circle, 
copying  in  detail,  or  rather,  repeating,  as  the  doctrines  and 
“  manifestations,”  so  also,  and  consequently,  the  manners  and 
morals,  of  its  illustrious  predecessor  !  alter  et  idem  !  alter 
et  idem !  ! 


CHAPTER  XIIL 


The  oracles  are  dumb, 
iVo  voice  or  hideous  hum 

Runs  through  the  arched  roof  in  words  deceiving, 
Apollo  Iroin  his  shrine 
Can  no  more  divine. 

With  hollow  shriek  the  steep  of  Delphos  leaving. 
***** 

Peor  and  Baalim 
Forsake  their  temples  dim, 

With  that  iwice  battered  god  of  Palestine; 

7\nd  mooned  Ashtaroth, 

Heavens  queen  and  mother  both. 

Now  sits  not  girt  with  tapers’  holy  shine. 

Milton,  Ode  on  the  Nativity. 

0  jusyag  Uav  TeOvrjzep. 

The  great  Pan  is  dead. 

Plutarch,  De  Oraculorum  Defectu. 


What  is  the  true  and  natural  relation  of  Christianity  to  the 
present  manifestations?  In  order  to  answer  this  question 
correctly  it  seems  to  me  necessary  first  to  inquire  in  regard 
to  the  character  of  the  ancient  Sai[xovi^o[xsvoi  or  demoniacs 
spoken  of  in  the  New  Testament.  Were  they  persons  labor¬ 
ing  under  certain  diseases  supposed  to  have  been  induced  by 
the  presence  or  agency  of  malignant  daemons ;  or  were  they 
those  whose  organs  were  taken  possession  of  and  controlled 
by  spirits,  in  the  opinion  of  persons  of  that  period,  in  the 


157 


same  manner  as  spirits  are  supposed  to  control  and  act 
through  the  organs  of  certain  persons  at  the  present  time  ? 
It  is  plain,  I  think,  from  the  New  Testament,  that  it  was  not 
the  common  opinion  at  that  time,  as  some  have  asserted  it 
was,  that  diseases  in  general  were  produced  by  some  agency 
of  evil  spirits,  because  the  distinction  is  everywhere  made  be¬ 
tween  “healing  diseases,”  and  “casting  out  devils.”  Neither 
does  it  appear  that  any  particular  diseases  were  supposed  to 
imply,  necessarily,  the  presence  of  spirits.  The  most  that 
can  be  inferred  from  the  New  Testament  is  that  diseases  did 
not  exclude  them.  Certain  diseases  are  commonly  supposed 
to  have  indicated  to  the  ancients  the  presence  of  daemons — in¬ 
sanity,  for  instance  ;  yet  this  disease  is  spoken  of  as  being 
cured  in  the  New  Testament  without  any  mention  of  daemons, 
although  in  another  place  a  lunatic  is  mentioned  as  being  also 
daemoniac.  So  dmmoniacs  are  spoken  of  who  were  deaf  and 
blind,  but  deafness  and  blindness  are  cured  also  where  there 
were  no  daemons.  Epilepsy  is  one  of  the  diseases  which  it  is 
thought  the  ancients  believed  to  be  owing  to  spirit  agency  ; 
and  the  case  in  the  New  Testament  where  the  possessed  is 
said  to  have  been  thrown  down,  and  “  wallowed  foaming,”  is 
often  reckoned  a  case  of  epilepsy.  It  is  certain,  however, 
from  ancient  profane  authors,  that  epilepsy  often  occurred 
where  there  was  no  suspicion  of  daemons  ;  it  is  also  in  evi¬ 
dence  that  in  some  kinds  of  possession  the  person  supposed  to 
be  under  control  of  the  spirits  fell  down  and  foamed  at  the 
mouth.  Thus  in  Apuleius  (Oratio  de  Magia)  it  appears  that 
he  was  accused  of  enchanting  a  certain  boy,  because  he  (the 
boy)  exhibited  symptoms  of  epilepsy  in  his  presence ;  but  he 
was  acquitted  by  proving  that  the  boy  had  real  epilepsy,  and 
that  there  was  therefore  no  occasion  to  suppose  enchantment, 
or  the  induction  or  presence  of  spirits.  The  Pythia,  too,  was 
convulsed  and  foamed  at  the  mouth,  and  so,  probably,  did  all 
those  who  were  said  to  divine  by  “  rage  and  furyP  I  think 
the  conclusion  is  legitimate,  therefore,  as  far  as  regards  the 
New  Testament,  that  the  ^aijj-ovj^ofxsvoi  are  not  to  be  considered 


158 


as,  in  the  opinion  of  their  contemporaries,  merely  diseased  per¬ 
sons.  It  seems  certain,  then,  that  they  were  supposed  to  be 
persons  possessed  and  controlled  by  spirits  in  such  wise  that 
thtir  organs  during  the  obsession  did  not  respond  to  their 
own  volition  but  to  the  will  of  the  dsemon  ;  for  it  is  evident 
that  the  phenomena  were  not  looked  upon  as  owing  to  any 
merely  abnormal  condition  of  their  own  minds,  but  to  the 
presence  and  agency  of  some  other  intelligent  and  personal 
beings.  That  such  was  the  opinion  is  plain  from  the  history, 
because  the  possessed  persons  are  not  said  to  act  or  to  speak, 
but  the  spirits  are  represented  as  the  agents  in  all  that  they 
do  or  say.  Their  object  then,  plainly,  was  not  to  inflict  dis¬ 
ease  of  body  or  mind,  any  more  than  it  is  of  their  successors 
at  the  present  time.  They  seem  to  have  been  no  more  nume¬ 
rous,  propably  less  so  than  at  present.  In  the  whole  of 
Christ’s  ministry  there  are  not  recorded,  perhaps,  more  than 
a  dozen  instances  of  the  exercise  of  his  power  to  cast  them 
out,  though  sometimes  more  than  one,  and  sometimes  many 
persons  may  have  been  set  free  where  only  one  record  is 
made. 

They  seem  to  have  acted  through — as  we  should  say — Me¬ 
diums  of  different  kinds.  Most  of  the  possessed,  or  at  least 
many  of  them,  were  evidently  very  good  speaking  Mediums — 
the  spirits  spoke  by  them  readily  and  rapidly.  Several,  how¬ 
ever,  are  recorded  as  dumb,  where  it  is  remarkable  that  the 
spirit  and  not  the  man  is  said  to  be  dumb,  that  is,  he  had  not 
yet  acquired  cojitrol  of  the  Medium’s  organs  of  voice.  Others 
appear  to  have  been  Mediums  for  the  physical  manifestations, 
perhaps  for  pantomime,  as  where  the  daemoniac  simulated  epi¬ 
lepsy  ;  and  the  spirits  of  the  daernoniacs  among  the  tombs 
could  both  speak,  and  exhibit  as  much  physical  energy  as  the 
strongest  of  the  modern  spirits.  Other  persons  again  were 
simply  troubled  fyXovfisvoi,  disturbed,  vexed)  with  evil  spirits 
— they  were  perhaps  rapping  about  them,  seizing  them  by 
the  arm,  scratching  them  on  the  legs,  patting  them  on  the 
head,  and  after  other  modern  methods  soliciting  leave  to  enter, 


159 


or  perhaps  they  were  noisy  about  their  houses,  deranged  their 
furniture,  (fee.  These  Mediums  too,  like  other  ancient  Me¬ 
diums,  as  the  Pythia,  the  Indian  Sages,  and  Apollonius  Ty- 
anensis,  and  like  many  modern  Mediums  also,  seem  to  have 
been  clairvoyant,  or  psychometric,  that  is,  they  could  read  the 
characters  of  those  they  looked  upon,  for  they  cried  out  at  the 
presence  of  Christ,  “we  knoAV  thee  who  thou  art;”  so  also 
the  soothsaying  damsel  spoken  of  in  the  Acts  exclaimed  at 
sight  of  the  Apostles,  “  These  be  the  servants  of  the  most 
high  God.” 

It  does  not  appear  definitely  from  the  Evangelists  whether 
these  deemoniacs  made  any  use  of  their  peculiar  spirital  en¬ 
dowment,  or  the  spirits  of  the7/i.  They  are  spoken  of  inci¬ 
dentally,  just  as  we  now  speak  of  Mediums,  it  being  taken  for 
granted  in  either  case  that  everybody  knows  what  a  djemoniac 
or  a  Medium  is.  The  case  however  in  the  Acts,  which  is  per¬ 
haps  the  key  to  many  of  the  others,  answers  precisely  to  one 
of  our  female  Mediums  travelling  with  her  keepers  for  their 
mutual  benefit,  and  it  is  evident  from  other  sources  of  inform¬ 
ation  that  the  heathen  world  at  that  time  was  full  of  such,  and 
they  were  probably  not  wanting  in  Judma. 

These  ancient  dmmoniacs  were,  then,  undoubtedly  parallel, 
and  the  same  in  kind,  Avith  those  persons  who  claim  the  honor 
of  being  considered  the  subjects  of  a  similar  daemonopathy  at 
the  present  time.  That  dsemoniacs  Avere  common  among  the 
pagans  as  well  as  the  JeAVS  is  proved  by  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  and  also  by  profane  authors ;  and  since  thei/  are 
known  to  have  been  Mediums  for  divination  and  other  pur¬ 
poses,  the  conclusion  seems  unavoidable  that  those  among  the 
Jews  Avere  also  connected  more  or  less  Avith  the  divination  and 
necromancy  of  the  period.  The  character  of  the  sorcerer,  too,  at 
Samaria,  seems  to  have  been  identical  Avith  that  of  the  magi¬ 
cians  or  enchanters  scattered  throughout  the  Roman  Empire, 
by  whose  aid  people  Avere  in  the  habit  of  consulting  the  spir¬ 
its.  And  there  Avas  plainly  no  difference  in  kind  between 
the  spirit  manifestations  spoken  of  in  the  Nbav  Testament  and 


\  A,  J  .  {^  A  >  S  \  ,  N 


160 


those  so  common  in  the  heathen  Avorkl  at  the  same  time. — 
^  Now  it  is  not  necessary  to  my  purpose  to  determine  the  pointy 
or  even  to  express  an  opinion,  whether  the  ancient  spirit-phe¬ 
nomena  as  they  were  by  some  at  that  time  supposed  to  be, 
^  occuring  both  among  Jcavs  and  pagans,  were  really  produced 
by  the  agency  of  unearthly  spirits,  or  if  they  were  not  rather 
^  the  effect  of  certain  relations  of  the  human  mind  and  body 
^  the  law  of  which  was  at  that  time,  and  is  now,  unknown. 
This  point,  in  regard  to  the  facts  recorded  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment,  will  be  decided,  probably,  somewhat  according  to  the 
inquirer’s  answer  to  the  previous  question,  “  What  think  ye  of 
Christ?  ”  Those  Avho  attribute  to  him  the  highest  character, 
must  of  course  believe  that  the  true  explanation  was  perfectly 
well  knoAvn  to  him.  If  then  the  phenomena  were  not  at  all 
the  effect  of  spirit-agency,  it  is  extremely  difficult,  to  find  a 
reason  why  he  spoke  and  acted  in  accordance  with  the  com¬ 
mon  but  erroneous  view  of  the  subject  taken  by  his  contempo¬ 
raries.  That  there  may  have  been  reasons  sufficient  to  in¬ 
duce  this  line  of  conduct  cannot  be  denied,  but  at  the  same 
time,  they  must,  I  think,  be  unknown  to  men.  Those  for 
whom  his  opinion  would  not  be  authoritative  would  of  course 
determine  their  own  on  other  grounds.  I  think  it  cannot  be 
gainsayed,  however,  without  a  pretty  violent  interpretation  of 
the  New  Testament,  that  both  Christ  and  the  Apostles  be¬ 
lieved  the  manifestations  which  come  under  their  observation^ 
to  be  owing  to  the  presence  of  spirits.  But  whatever  may  be 
the  decision  of  this  point,  I  think  it  is  certain  beyond  all  hon¬ 
est  doubt,  that  the  whole  ancient  dmmonopathy,  if  dmmono- 
pathy  it  were,  including  both  Jews  and  pagans,  with  all  its 
attendant  manifestations,  Avas  essentially  the  same  thing  in 
kind,  and  the  product  of  essentially  the  same  causes  as  what 
is  now  technically  called  the  “  NeAV  Dispensation” — that  the 
present  spirit-phenomena  and  spirit-intercourse  are  but  the 
reiteration  of  the  same  things  Avhich,  in  ancient  times,  were 
at  their  height  about  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era. 
What  then  Avas  the  aspect  of  Christianity,  and  of  its  friends. 


161 


towards  this  development  at  that  time  ?  Did  the  conduct  of 
Christ  indicate  that  he  thought  it  offered — whatever  might  be 
his  opinion  of  the  cause  of  it — a  legitimate  method  of  holding 
intercourse  with  the  dead,  and  of  acquiring  information  in  re¬ 
gard  to  the  future  world  ?  Some  of  the  spirits  whom  he  met 
with  Avere  evidently  not  altogether  uninformed  in  regard  to 
the  “  spirit  world  ;  ”  Avas  he  in  the  habit  of  consulting  them  on 
that  point  or  any  other  ?  Did  Paul  request  the  soothsaying 
damsel  or  her  keepers  to  put  him  in  communication  Avith  the 
spirits,  that  he  might  inquire  in  regard  to  the  proper  doctrine 
to  be  preached  ?  or  did  Peter  ask  Simon  Magus  to  enchant 
some  boy  for  him  that  he  might  have  his  curiosity  gratified  in 
regard  to  the  geography  of  the  many  mansions  Avhich  his 
Master  had  informed  him  of  the  existence  of?  Did  the  Apos¬ 
tles  advise  or  encourage  ef^wXoXarpsia,  or  the  practice  of  fre¬ 
quenting  and  consulting  consecrated  images,  by  Avhich  respon' 
ses  were  given,  and  spirit-intercourse  carried  on,  as  it  is  now 
by  tables  and  other  furniture  ? 

Did  Christ  or  the  Apostles  encourage  the  kind  of  curiosity 
which  is  stimulated  and  gratified  by  the  present,  as  it  was, 
by  the  ancient  necromancy  ?  Was  there,  in  his  opinion,  no 
obligation  to  recognize  and  obey  the  spiritual  truth  Avhich  he 
taught  or  any  spiritual  truth,  unless  it  Avas  authenticated  by 
that  kind  of  evidence  ?  Did  St.  Paul  reckon  the  pagan  spir¬ 
its  to  be  the  far  progressed,  highly  developed,  and  “  semi-di¬ 
vine  ”  souls  of  dead  men,  Avlioin  it  Avould  be  highly  proper  to 
consult  in  regard  to  theological  matters,  Avhen  he  wrote  the 
first  chapter  of  Romans  for  instance,  or  Avhen  he  said  that  the 
heathen  ofierings  Avere  made  unto  devils  ?  Does  the  New,  or 
the  Old  Testament  anyAvhere  advise  necromancy  as  the  true 
art  or  science  Avhereby  to  arrive  at  a  correct  knowledge  of  the 
world  to  come  ? 

Certainly  Avhoever  considers  these  questions  Avith  an  ex¬ 
amination  of  the  opinions  of  the  Founder,  and  of  the  first 
promulgators  of  Christianity,  cannot  fail  of  the  proper  an- 

21 


162 


swer.  Bat  men  often  have  incorrect  opinions,  alas  !  how  often, 
ot  what  is  implied  in  their  own  principles.  Bid  these  men, 
then,  misunderstand  their  own  doctrines  in  this  respect,  and 
is  it  appropriate  and  necessaay  for  Christianity,  that  “  one 
should  rise  from  the  dead  in  order  to  convince  us  that  its  prin¬ 
ciples  are  not  delusive  and  false  ?  or  to  enlighten  us  where 
its  principles  come  short  ?  Boes  it  teach  anythin'^  which 
does  not  find  its  correlative  consciousness,  and  recognition  of 
its  truth,  in  every  human  soul,  which  does  not  love  darkness 
and  neglect  or  refuse  to  bring  itself  into  conscious  relation  to 
the  whole  truth  which  it  teaches  ?  Can  any  human  soul  ask 
any  (question  in  regard  to  the  true  principles  of  duty,  in  re¬ 
gard  to  its  true  spiritual  relations,  in  regard  to  what  consti¬ 
tutes  the  true  well  being  of  the  human  spirit,  in  regard  to 
the  means  necessary  to  attain  that  highest  end,  which  Chris¬ 
tianity  does  not  answer  ?  Or  is  this  not  the  proper  purpose 
of  religion  ?  which  ought  rather  to  address  itself  to  the  senses 
and  sensuous  understanding  ;  and  to  “  consider  its  teachings 
on  the  habits,  life,  condition,  and  circumstances,  of  the  spirit 
after  death  of  the  most  vital  importance  properly  to  be  com¬ 
municated  (Spiritualism,  p.  134)  and  so,  to  gratify  idle 
curiosity,  and  make  the  sensuous,  and  even  the  sensual  happy, 
by  describing  to  them  as  their  future  residence,  celestial  gar¬ 
dens  most  delightful  to  the  senses,  where  they  are  to  meet 
their  wives  and  children  and  cousins  ;  and  by  assuring  them, 
with  testimony  of  those  risen  or  returned  from  the  dead,  who 
have  been  there,  that  spiritual  food !!  !  (Supernal  Theolo¬ 
gy)  consists  of  more  delicious  apples  and  peaches,  and  other 
fine  fruits,  had  with  very  little  la1)or,  than  inhabitants  of  this 
Earth  can  have  any  conception  of?  Is  this,  after  all  what 
IS  implied  in,  a  sort  of  appendix  to  Christianity,  a  “pro¬ 
gressed  ”  Christianity,  notwithstanding  the  opinions  of  its 
Author,  and  which  therefore  very  legitimately  appeals  to 
necromancy  as  among  its  appropriate,  and  most  satisfactory 
evidences  ?  Christ  and  Christianity  forgive  me  for  askino- 
the  question. 


163 


It  is  plain  that  Christianity  is,  in  its  principles,  at  irrecon¬ 
cilable  hostility  with  this  re-development,  and  resurrection  of 
the  old  spiritism,  as  it  was  at  first  with  all  the  ancient  forms 
of  it.  Indeed,  at  its  very  advent,  it  declared  war  against  it ; 
in  its  very  cradle  it  strangled  this  serpent ;  or,  rather, 
“  bruised  the  heads  ”  of  this  Hydra,  and  even  amputated 
them.  However,  it  is  in  their  very  nature  to  sprout  again — 
not  now  for  the  first  time — as  soon  as  the  cautery  of  pure 
undiluted  spiritual  truth  ceases  to  be  applied  to  them.  True, 
they  do  not  noAV  appear — not  yet — -as  Jupiter,  and  Apollo, 
and  Venus,  but  they  are  the  heads  of  the  same  beast  still. 
Pan,  indeed,  “  the  great  Pan,”  who  was  announced  as  dead, 
with  groans  and  wailing  of  “  the  spirits,”  is  fully  resuscitated 
in  his  ancient  form  and  proportions,  which  accounts  well  and 
naturally,  for  the  reappearance  of  so  many  Satyrs  in  our 
time. 

What  then  should  be  the  aspect  of  Christianity  towards 
the  present  manifestations  ?  It  is  not  for  me  to  advise  the 
Church.  Yet  surely,  one  would  think, — were  she  wise  in  her 
generation— that  she  has  tried  sufficiently  the  experiment  of 
descending  from  her  proper  sphere  of  the  spiritual ;  of  meet¬ 
ing  the  world  half-way,  or  some  other  proportion  of  the  way 
between  them  ;  of  borrowing  the  weapons  of  her  foes  ;  of 
subsidizing  her  natural  enemies  to  fight  in  her  cause.  The 
Church,  however,  even  the  most  unspiritual  and  semi-worldly 
organizations  which  go  by  that  name, — with  the  exception 
perhaps,  of  the  extreme  left  wing  of  the  universalists — is  not, 
I  think,  in  danger  of  any  coalition  or  coalescence  with  the 
present  self-confident  and  very  threatening  development. 
Its  materialism  is  too  gross,  its  sensuousness  too  coarse,  its 
Deity,  if  Deity  it  has,  too  Epicurean,  its  attacks  upon  Chris¬ 
tianity  too  unskilful  and  vulgai’,  to  seduce  'permanently  more 
than  the  merest  vestibulary  lodgers  in  the  Church  ;  or  to 
alarm  more  than  a  few  of  the  most  timid  worldly-wise-men. 
To  “  the  world,”  whether  in  the  Church,  or  out  of  it,  it  seems 


164 


likely  to  become  a  more  than  ordinarily  dangerous  form  of 
delusion  ;  yet  even  in  “  the  world,”  where  it  can  be  brought, 
in  its  true  and  full  lineaments,  to  the  perception  and  con¬ 
sciousness  of  men,  I  trust  that  few  except  those — perhaps  not 
few — who  are  pre-adapted  and  pre-conformed  to  it,  will  remain 
long  under  its  influence. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


Almyghte  God  that  made  mankyn, 

He  schilde  his  servandes  out  of  syn, 

And  maynteyne  tham  with  might  and  mayne. 

Metrical  Romance3. 

For  never  wight  so  evill  did  or  thought, 

But  would  some  rightfull  cause  pretend,  though  rightly  nought, 

Spenser,  Faerie  Gueene. 

Much  pains  have  been  taken  to  poison  the  minds  of  all  ranks  of  people,  but 
especially  the  middling  and  the  lower  classes,  by  the  most  impious  and  blas¬ 
phemous  publications  that  ever  disgraced  any  Christian  country. — Porteus. 


In  this  concluding  chapter  I  wish  to  address  a  few  words 
to  believers  in  Christianity.  Not  indeed  to  those  who  are 
fully  and  in  the  highest  sense  Christians.  They,  having 
found  the  words  of  Christ  more  than  verified,  that  he  who 
comes  to  Him  shall  never  hunger,  and  that  he  who  believes  on 
Him  shall  never  thirst,  need  not,  neither  woul  1  I  presume  to 
offer  to  them  any  suggestions  in  regard  to  the  subject  under 
consideration.  With  whatever  kind,  or  degree,  or  amount  of 
evidence  the  “New  Dispensation”  should  be  offered  to  their 
spiritual  perception,  it  would  be  instantly  and  indignantly  re- 
jected  by  the  inherent  antipathies  of  the  spiritual  life.  But 
there  is  another,  and  much  larger  class  of  Christians,  many  of 


166 


them,  indeed,  only  nominally  such,  who,  althougdi  their  moral 
sensibilities  are  shocked,  beeome  puzzled  and  bewildered  by 
the  “  manifestations,”  so  strange,  marvellous,  and  as  they  sup¬ 
pose,  altogether  new  ;  and  so  are  induced  to  admit  the  truth 
of  the  theory  of  spirit-agency  because  they  see  not  how  else 
the  facts  are  to  be  accounted  for.  Having  gone  so  far,  anoth¬ 
er  and  wholly  different  conclusion,  viz.,  that  such  a  wonderful 
and  unheard  of  intervention  of  departed  spirits  can  be  only  for 
most  important  and  truthful  purposes — this  second  conclusion 
I  say,  is,  as  it  Avere,  smuggled  in,  under  cloak  and  cover  of  the 
first,  although  they  are  entirely  distinct,  ajid  have  no  natural 
or  necessary  connexion.  Indeed,  in  regard  to  the  first  con¬ 
clusion,  they  do  not  seem  to  remember  that,  although  a  certain 
theory  may  seem  to  account  for  the  Avhole  of  certain  phenom¬ 
ena,  it  does  not,  by  any  means,  follow  that  it  makes  us  ac¬ 
quainted  with  the  true  causes  of  them.  The  records  of  science 
shoAV  abundant  examples  of  this  fallacy.  Neither  does  it  fol¬ 
low’  that  a  theory  is  true  because  it  see?)is  to  he  the  only  pos¬ 
sible  way  of  accounting  for  all  the  facts.  But  the  spirit-the¬ 
ory,  in  the  present  case,  does  not  even  account  for  all  the 
facts  ;  in  truth  it  does  not  account  for  any  of  them,  except  by 
assuming,  or  reasoning  in  a  circle  to  prove,  that  spirits  are 
possessed  of  such  physical  and  psychological  qualities  as  the  ex¬ 
planation  of  the  facts  demands,  which  is  a  wholly  gratuitous 
assumption.  But  in  regard  to  merely  sensuous,  visible  and 
palpable  phenomena,  such,  for  instance,  as  the  locality,  des¬ 
criptive  geography,  and  habits  of  the  second  sphere,  Avhich  all 
spirits  profess  to  be  acquainted  with,  hoAV  does  the  spirit-the¬ 
ory  account  for  the  wide  disagreement  and  contradictory  char¬ 
acter  of  the  spirit-evidence  ?  The  theory  does  not  account  for 
that,  or  for  innumerable  other  ridiculous  self-contradictions  of 
of  the  spirits  ;  but  its  friends  are  ingenious  beyond  all  paral¬ 
lel  at  inventing  supplementary  theories  for  each  particular 
case,  as  self-contradictory,  however,  as  the  self-contradictions 
they  are  intended  to  explain.  But  many  of  them,  it  must  be 
confessed,  are  extremely  interesting  for  the  perfect  naivete 


167 


and  innocence  with  which  they  are  promulgated.  Take,  for 
instance,  that  “  cabinet  specimen  ”  already  quoted  in  a  previ¬ 
ous  chapter,  where  we  are  told  that  if  we  adopt  the  theory 
that  the  communicating  spirit  is  scarcely  more  developed  than 
the  Medium,  we  shall  find  no  difficulty  in  accounting  for  con¬ 
tradictions,  the  ignorance,  or  lack  of  development,  &.c.  in  the 
matter  communicated.  Now,  in  regard  to  matters  coming  un¬ 
der  the  cognizance  of  the  senses,  I  cannot  help  thinking  that 
a  majority,  even  of  Mediums,  could  give  a  tolerably  uniform 
description  of  a  village  in  which  they  had  all  resided  ;  but,  in 
regard  to  the  other  facts  to  be  accounted  for,  I  freely  admit  that 
the  ingenious  author  of  this  sub-theory  has  hit  upon  an  admi¬ 
rable  explanation.  So,  indeed,  the  ingenuity  manifested  in  a 
great  many  other  explanations  of  spirit-contradictions,  if  ap¬ 
plied  to  the  invention  of  labor-saving  machinery,  must  certain¬ 
ly  bring  out  a  vast  number  of  patentable  contrivances.  But 
if  the  whole  mass  of  the  testimony  of  modern  spirits  in  regard 
to  matters  of  mere  fact — for  in  regard  to  doctrine  their  opin¬ 
ions  are  much  more  uniform — in  regard  to  such  phenomena  as 
must  come  alike  under  the  cognizance  of  the  senses  or  “  sense- 
powers  ”  which  all  the  spirits  assert  they  possess — if  the 
whole  testimony  on  such  points  were  subjectei  to  the  ordeal 
of  cross-questioning  by  a  bar  of  clever  lawyers,  what  would  be 
the  inevitable  verdict  of  an  intelligent  court  and  jury  in  re¬ 
gard  to  the  character  of  the  spirits  ?  what,  but  that  of  a  very 
competent  judge  of  them  in  the  ancient  period,  that  is 
their  very  nature  to  lie ! !  ” 

There  is,  however,  no  occasion  to  dispute  this  point  with 
the  spiritists ;  there  is  no  great  objection  to  calling  in  the 
gods  here,  except  the  ancient  dramatic  one,  “  non  dignus  vin- 
dice  nodus,”  the  occasion  is  not  worthy  of  the  (“  supposed  ”) 
company.  On  the  contrary  if  these  people  choose  to  insist 
that  they  are  the  subjects  of  possession  and  obsession  by  spir¬ 
its  from  the  other  world,  they  ought,  by  all  means,  to  be  in¬ 
dulged  in  their  opinion.  It  cannot  fail  to  be  a  stong  confirma¬ 
tion  of  the  truth  of  Christianity  for  some  minds  otherwise  un- 


168 


satisfied — it  ought  to  be  for  all  believers  in  the  spirit-theory — 
this  proof  of  its  correctness  in  regard  to  the  so  much  disputed 
doctrine  of  spirits.  Five  years  ago  these  same  men,  who  are 
among  the  leaders  and  abettors  of  the  New  Dispensation  ridi¬ 
culed  the  daemonology  of  the  New  Testament  as  among  the 
lowest  dregs  of  “  old  mythological  religions.”  Now  they  ac¬ 
count  for  precisely  the  same  manifestatations  by  exactly  the 
same  theory  ;  only  they  still  eschew  “  the  devil  and  his  an¬ 
gels.”  Their  spirits,  that  foam  and  rage  with  the  ancient 
dmmoniac  fierceness,  and  dash  people  upon  the  ground,  are 
not  quite  so  bad,  merely  “  unprogressed.”  Indeed  it  seems 
quite  likely,  from  the  direction  in  which  they  are  going,  that 
in  due  time  they  will  be  convinced  of  the  existence  of  the  other 
class — if  they  are  another  class — of  spirits  also,  and  likewise 
of  the  place  “  prepared  for  them.” 

This  matter  of  the  place,  by  the  way,  “  the  bad  place,” 
seems  to  be  almost  as  annoying  to  them  as  if  they  were  al¬ 
ready  in  it.  They  lose  no  opportunity  of  vituperating,  often 
with  the  coarsest  and  most  insulting  language,  all  who  believe 
that  God  will  make  any  essential  difference,  in  the  future 
world,  between  those  who  obey  him  and  those  who  do  not. 
The  most  “  unprogressed  ”  spirits  met  with  in  the  spheres 
(See  Spiritualism,  Section  xxxix.)  are  those  who  have  taught 
on  earth  such  “  gloomy  dogmas.”  who  have  degraded  the 
character  of  the  infinitely  good — natured,  and  don’t-care-what 
you-do-if-you-only-make-yourselves-happy  god,  by  represent¬ 
ing  him — oh  !  vindictive  tyranny,  and  old  mythological  re¬ 
ligion  ! — as  “angry  with  the  wicked.”  Men  ought  not  to  be 
made  uneasy,  and  to  go  along  with  troubled  consciences,  even 
the  short  road  which  leads  to  whatever  kind  of  everlasting 
happiness  may  suit  their  taste.  On  this  point  there  is  extant 
a  vision  by  the  ci-devant  Judge  (See  Shekinah,  July  1853,) 
which  is  peculiarly  instructive,  almost  as  edifying  as  the 
spirit-confession  of  the  poor  hell-fire  parson  in  Section  39. 
Their  continually  repeated  calumny,  that,  to  suppose  Christ 
to  have  uttered  such  severe  and  indignant  rebukes  of  sin,  and 


1G9 


threatcnings  against  sinners,  as  are  reconlccl  of  liim,  is  a 
slander  against  that  good  man ; — their  everlasting  iteration 
and  reiteration  of  the  assertion  that  hell  is  only  a  hobgoblin 
dream  of  dead  orthodoxy  (“  so  called  ”)— these  and  many  other 
such-like  une(|uivocal  indications  make  apparent  to  mere  spec¬ 
tators,  what  perliaps  docs  not  come  np  fully  to  their  own  ob¬ 
servation,  that  they  have  not,  after  all,  succeeded  in  eradica¬ 
ting  from  their  minds  the  common  consciousness  of  all  man¬ 
kind  in  regard  to  a  spiritual  retribution  hereafter,  and — “to 
compare  great  things  Avith  small” — remind  one  strongly  of 
the  brave  boy  Avho  Avas  not  afraid,  but  avIio  nevertheless  Avas 
obliged  to  Avhistle  louder  and  louder  to  keep  up  his  courage. 
There  can  hardly  bo  a  stronger  external  proof  of  the  truth  of 
Christianity  than  the  constant  manifestation,  fjy  what  the 
NeAV  Testament  emphatically  calls  “  the  AA’orld,”  of  that  pe¬ 
culiar  bitter  hatred  of  its  characteristic  doctrines,  that  vindic¬ 
tive  emotion  in  regard  to  them,  of  Avhich  fear  is  an  essential 
element.  For  such  as  the  Author  of  Christianity  announced 
Avould  be  the  relation  of  “  the  Avorld  ”  to  his  doctrines  and  to 
his  disciples,  such  has  ever  been,  and  Avill  ever  be  the  relation 
of  “  the  world  ”  to  Christianity,  from  the  essential  and  inhe¬ 
rent  elements  of  the  character  of  each.  Such,  of  course  is, 
and  AA’ill  be  the  relation  of  the  believers  in  the  NeAv  Dispen¬ 
sation  to  Christianity  ;  of  “  the  AV’orld  ”  assuming  to  be  spirit¬ 
ual  ;  (vvdiile  it  is  only  spiritaJ)  of  “  flesh  and  blood  ”  claiming 
to  “  inherit  the  kingdom  of  Cod.” 

Let  us,  then,  admit,  since  they  insist  upon  it,  that  they  are 
“  possessed.”  The  only  important  question  still  remains  to 
be  decided,  Avhat  sort  of  spirits  have  taken  possession  of  them. 
Are  they  good,  or  are  they  evil  spirits  ?  They  themselves 
admit  that  they  are  part  evil,  at  least  as  evil  as  any  spirits 
can  be,  not  as  bad  as  the  NeAv  Testament  devdls  exactly,  but 
evil  in  such  a  sense  that  their  communications  may  be  unre¬ 
liable,  and  eA"en  Avilfully  false.  If,  then,  any  of  them  are  good 
and  true,  hoAV  are  they  to  be  distinguished  from  the  evil  and 
false?  There  is  a  very  curious  peep  into  the  spheres  in 


170 


“  Spiritualism,”  Section  49,  from  which  it  appears  that,  “  very 
many  (spirits)  either  from  an  over-anxiety  to  commune,  or 
from  a  careless  disregard  of  what  they  deem  a  trivial  false¬ 
hood,  assume  false  names,”  and  we  are  further  told  that  no 
one  has  been  more  often  “  falsely  personated  ”  than  Sweden¬ 
borg.  Was  that  the  case  when  twenty  spirits,  voluntarily, 
“  in  the  Name  of  God,”  swore  to  his  identity  ?  Was  that  the 
case  when  not  long  since,  in  France,  (Cahagnet,  The  Celestial 
Telegraph)  under  adjuration  “  in  the  Name  of  God,”  which 
no  spirit  dares  disobey,  and  after  other  scientific  cautions 
against  false  impersonations,  he  gave  responses,  on  almost  all 
points,  quite  contradictory  to  those  he  gives  here  7  Was 
that  the  case  with  the  authors  of  the  profound  (“  so  called  ”) 
communications  purporting  to  come  from  the  same  Swedish 
philosopher,  and  from  “  my  Lord  Bacon,”  in  “  Spiritualism  ?” 
Truly,  if  any  man,  who  ever  read  ten  lines  of  Bacon,  or  one 
treatise  of  the  thoughtful  Swede,  can  believe  that  either  of 
those  men  could  have  perpetrated,  even  in  their  school-boy 
days,  such  rhapsodical  inanities  as  are  there  fathered  upon 
their  far-progressed  spirits, — certainly,  credulity  can  no  far¬ 
ther  go,  and  never  was  known  to  go  so  far  before. 

It  cannot  be  said  in  this  case,  in  order  that  “  the  reader 
may  find  no  difficulty  in  extricating  his  mind  from  doubts,” 
that  it  is  “  an  unwarrantable  thing  to  look  for  instruction 
much  superior  to  the  mental  development  of  the  Medium,”  be¬ 
cause  in  the  first  place,  these  were  reckoned  rather  uncommon¬ 
ly  wise  men  while  “  in  the  form,”  and  their  spirits  are  now 
far-progressed ;  and  in  the  next  place,  the  communications 
kept  clear  of  the  mind  of  the  Medium,  and  only  come  through 
his  arm.  There  remain,  therefore,  for  all  minds  not  precom¬ 
mitted  to  credulity,  but  two  possible  methods  of  solution  of 
this  difficulty, — the  moral  and  intellectual  absurdity  involved 
in  the  asserted  authorship  of  these  communications, — one  is 
to  suppose  that  these  spirits  were  “  falsely  personated,”  and 
the  other  is  to  recur  to  the  theory  of  Synesius  already  refer¬ 
red  to,  and  to  suppose  that  the  brain-didbble  of  the  Medium 


171 


liimself,  being  in  tbe  way  there  set  forth,  expressed,  flowed 
doAvn  through  his  arm,  upon  the  paper.  Incredulous  men 
will  adopt  some  one  and  some  the  other  of  these  solutions, 
for  myself,  I  profess  my  most  religious  belief  in  the  latter. 
How  then,  provided  we  could  previously  know  what  spirits 
are  competent  to  make  known  to  us  the  most  important  and 
solemn  of  all  truths,  are  they  to  be  identified,  and  distin¬ 
guished  from  those  who  may,  under  most  plausible  pretexts, 
lead  us  into  fatal  errors,  and  delusions  ?  What  are  the  re¬ 
liable  tests  1  Shall  we  recur  to  the  ancient  and  only  scienti¬ 
fic  method  that  I  have  heard  of,  that  is,  compel  the  spirit  to 
appear,  and  judge  of  his  character  by  the  quality  of  the  halo 
that  surrounds  him  7  W e  are  told  that  spirits  can  be  “  iden¬ 
tified  beyond  a  doubt,”  by  the  test  that  they  are  cognizant  of 
certain  secrets  known  only  to  themselves  and  the  questioner. 
But  do  not  spirits,  according  to  the  highest  spirit-authority, 
and  asserted  facts,  read  our  thoughts  ?  What  need  then  that 
they  should  have  known  the  secret  before  death  ?  Moreover 
the  spirits  read  each  others  thoughts,  from  which  two  sources 
of  information,  it  follows  plainly,  that  any  spirit,  or  at  least — 
excluding  the  most  material  ones — most  spirits  can  become 
acquainted  with  an^’-  person’s  secret  whether  on  earth  or  in  the 
spheres.  This  test,  therefore,  is  good  for  nothing  even  where 
it  can  be  applied.  But  it  is  not  applicable  to  spirits  long 
dead,  and  far-progressed,  and  therefore  most  competent  to 
teach  us — unless  perchance  there  is  in  the  spheres,  or  some¬ 
where  else,  as  on  earth  in  a  less  degree,  a  far-progression  in 
depravity,  and  development  of  an  intelligent  evil  principle. 
In  which  case,  what  would  avail  the  modern  mushroom  tests 
against  a  haughty  and  far-unfolded  intellect  which  might 
choose  to  amuse  itself  by  mocking  and  duping  men  in  regard 
to  their  most  serious  relations  ?  Such  seems  to  be  the  dispo¬ 
sition,  and  the  ability  too,  of  some,  and  for  aught  that  has 
been  shown  to  the  contrary,  of  all  the  spirits  of  the  “  New 
Aera,”  as  many  Circles  in  New- York  can  testify. 


Surely  there  is  need  of  scientific  and  infallible  tests,  and 
of  the  most  skilful  and  experienced  of  men  to  use  them,  in 
order  to  deal  safely  with  lieings  intelligent,  it  may  be,  far 
heyond  the  measure  of  liuman  minds,  and,  for  aught  we  know, 
as  malignant  as  they  are  intelligent.  But  they  can  Im  ad¬ 
jured  in  the  Name  of  God  and  then  they  dare  not  lie  !  (See 
Spiritualism.)  One  would  suppose  that  if  they  were  much 
afraid  of  God  they  would  not  lie  iDithont  adjuration.  But  is 
it  not  impious,  according  to  the  spirits  themselves,  to  repre¬ 
sent  the  good  and  “  impartial  ”  God  as  angry  even  at  the 
wicked  ?  so  called.”)  Why  then  should  the  spirits  he  afraid 
of  Him  7 — ^this,  however,  reminds  one  of  another  adjuration 
Avhere  the  spirits  replied,  “Jesus  I  know,  and  Paul  I  know, 
hut  who  are  ye  “  The  manifestations,”  as  I  understand  it, 
are  the  result  of  quite  recent  imju’ovements  in  spirit-science 
in  the  spheres, — how  the  ancient  manifestations  w^ere  caused 
the  Judge  does  not  inform  us, — hut  the  development  of  the 
sciential  faculties,— to  repeat  a  trite  truism — does  not  neces¬ 
sarily  imply  any  corresponding,  or  indeed  any,  improvement 
of  the  moral  character.  This  new  spirit-science,  then,  may 
he  used,  may  have  been  invented,  as  well  hy  evil  as  hy  good 
spirits.  They  may  “  communicate  ”  as  skilfully,  exhibit  the 
“  physical  manifestations  ”  (which  though  a  perfectly  natural 
efiect  of  “  progression  ”  are  spoken  of  as  equivalent  in  their 
influence  to  miracles,)  as  remarkably,  and,  in  short,  employ 
the  new  science  in  whatever  way  they  please  to  accomplish 
evil  purposes.  The  question  still  recurs,  how  to  distinguish 
the  good  from  the  evil  spirits  ?  Oh  !  hut  the  good  spirits 
teach  such  beautiful  things  !  Yes,  those  parks  and  gardens 
in  the  spheres  are  very  beautiful  !  and  a  god  that  will  never 
he  angry  with  us — it  is  very  'pitiful  and  kind.  So  we  come 
round  to  the  old  principle  that  the  miracle,  including  the 
worker  of  it,  must  he  judged  hy  the  doctrine.  But,  according 
to  lamblichus,  “  an  evil  dannon  requires  that  his  worshiper 
should  be  just,  because  he  assmnes  the  appearance  of  one 
belonging  to  the  divine  germs  ;  but  he  is  subservient  to  (pro- 


173 

motes)  what  is  unjust,  because  he  is  depraved.”  With  what 
remarkable  and  apocatastatical  exactness  this  tallies  Avith  the 
experience  of  certain  Circles  in  NeAv  York,  where  spirits, 
“  fiilselj  personating  ”  the  Apostles,  preached  capital  sermons, 
and  yet  mocked  their  dupes  Avith  impious,  and  malignant 
practical  directions.  The  same  opinion,  derived  like  that  of 
lamblichus,  from  experience,  is  also  expresssd  by  believers  in 
the  NeAv  Dispensation  themselves.  How,  then,  can  Ave  dis¬ 
tinguish  the  good  from  the  evil  spirits  ?  or  hoAV  can  it  be 
proAnd  that  they  are  not  all  evil.  In  regard  to  all  properly 
sjoiritual  or  religious  teachings,  and  teachers,  there  are  but 
tAvo  methods  of  proving  their  truth  possible  or  conceiAnble. 
The  one  is  the  exercise  of  such  plainly  supernatural  poAver 
by  the  teacher  as  demonstrates  a  divine  interposition  for  the 
purpose  of  accrediting  truths  important  for  man  to  knoAV  ;  in 
Avhich  case  a  miracle  is  as  credible  as  any  other  effect  of  a 
sufficient  cause  ;  or  secondly,  the  teachings,  the  doctrine,  must 
be  such  as  find  their  full  and  satisfactory  recognition  in  every 
human  soul,  so  fast,  and  so  far,  as  it  is  unfolded  to  a  con¬ 
sciousness  of  its  reed  spiritual  character  and  relations.— 
Except  upon  this  condition,  spiritual  teachings,  religious 
doctrine,  hoAvever  true,  can  find  no  receptivity,  or  ability  to 
know  them  as  true,  in  those  to  aaTioih  they  are  addressed. 
But  in  order  to  a  practical  reception  of  spiritual  truth,  such 
a  reception,  that  is,  as  shall  control  the  conduct,  another  con¬ 
dition  is  equally  indispensable,  namely,  that  it  should  find 
a  receptivity  in  the  will  and  moral  election  of  those  to  Avhoin 
it  is  addressed.  lienee  it  is  that  spiritual  truth  is  a  measure 
and  test  of  the  extent  to  AAdiich  the  spiritued  is  unfolded,  and 
of  the  character,  as  good  or  evil,  of  those  Avho  hear  it. 
Hence  too,  it  folloAV'S  that  religious  doctrine,  that  Vvdiich  is 
truly  religious  and  addressed  to  and  testing  the  spiritued  in 
man,  must  of  necessity  excite  the  greatest  diversity  and  con¬ 
trariety  of  opinions  in  regard  to  itself.  Hence,  again,  the 
deep  meaning  and  inevitable  truth  of  the  Avords  of  Christ : 
‘‘  I  came  not  to  bring  peace  but  a  SAVord,”  for  spiritual  trutlq 


174 


always  implying  submission  to  itself,  when  not  loved,  is,  of 
necessity,  hated.  Hence,  yet  again,  the  fact  that  a  religious 
doctrine  divides  men,  who  accept  it  as  a  religious  doctrine,  in¬ 
to  parties  and  sects  in  regard  to  itself ;  and,  especially,  that 
it  is  hateful,  and  annoying  to  those  who  reject  it — for  men 
rather  ridicule  than  hate  a  pretender  whom  they  do  not  fear, 
-•-  so  far  from  diminishing  the  probability  of  its  divine  origin, 
is,  on  the  other  hand,  one  of  the  strong  external  evidences  of 
its  truth.  Yet  even  so,  and  notwithstanding  these  and  other 
obvious  difficulties  of  testing  the  pretensions  of  a  religious 
teacher  by  his  doctrine,  and  in  spite  of  the  cautions  suggested 
by  lamblichus,  and  by  the  experience  of  others  ;  this  second 
method  is  still,  the  true  and  only  reliable  one,  of  distinguish- 
incc  the  ffood  from  the  evil,  the  true  from -  the  false.  It  is  es- 
pecially  so  in  the  present  case,  because  there  is  no  pretension 
to  miracles  here,  and  if  there  were,  it  is  acknowledged  that 
the  evil  spirits  as  well  as  the  good  can  perform  them, — 
What  then  is  the  doctrine  of  the  spirits  and  of  their  interpre¬ 
ters  ?  And  here  it  is  obvious  to  remark  that  the  doctrine,  in 
order  to  prove  the  character  of  the  teacher  to  be  good,  must 
be  not  only  good,  not  mere  sermons  from  evil  spinits,  but  it 
must  be  all  good,  and  wholly  good.  What,  then,  is  the  char¬ 
acter  of  the  most  common,  prevailing,  characteristic,  orthodox 
(about  to  be  “  so  called,”)  doctrine  of  the  spirit-theology  of 
the  New  Dispensation?  And  that,  not  judged  by  the  opin¬ 
ions  of  a  few,  or  of  many,  of  the  present  time,  which  might 
be  to  misjudge  it ;  but  by  the  common  and  recorded  religious 
consciousness  of  all  mankind,  to  which,  indeed,  there  have 
been  some  few  exceptions,  I  dare  venture  to  affirm  either  from 
non-development,  or  mis-development  of  the  spiritual  powers. 
If,  then,  the  devil  and  all  his  angels,  of  the  “  old  mythological 
religion,”  in  Pandmmoniac  conclave  assembled,  should  set 
themselves  to  concoct  the  deadliest  scheme  within  the  compass 
of  dmmoniacal  craft,  against  the  religious  instincts,  the  spir¬ 
itual  advancement,  and  the  practical  piety  of  mankind,  could 
they  do  better  for  their  purpose,  than  to  fill  their  mouths  with 


175 


fair  words  of  virtue  and  brotlierhood,  and  benevolence ;  for, 

“  an  evil  dcemon  reqnires  that  his  worshiper  should  he  just., 
because  he  assumes  the  appearance  of  one  belonging  to  the 
divine  genus  while  at  the  same  time,  they  undermine  and 
eradicate  from  the  soil  of  humanity  all  manly  virtue,  much 
more  all  religion,  and  even  all  true  benevolence,  and  self-sac¬ 
rificing  love  of  one’s  neighbor,  which  are  baseless  and  evan¬ 
escent  as  the  morning  rainbow  portending  stonns,  except  so 
fiir  as  they  are  grounded  in  the  love  and  tear  of  God.  Could 
they  do  better  than  to  make  men  believe, — if  any,  even  devil¬ 
ish  hallucination  could  make  a  man  believe — that  they  have 
no  other  responsibilities  or  accountabilities  than  those  of  a 
tree  ? — that  “  moral  responsibility”  is  a  phrase  signyfying 
nothing  ? — that  it  is  impossible  for  any  rational  mind  to  con¬ 
ceive  of  the  existence  of  “/ree  ivill?^^ — that  sin  has  no  exis¬ 
tence  ? — that  the  universal  consciousness  of  moral  guilt  and 
consequent  accountability  is  a  delusion  ? — that  all  men  in  the 
next  world  will  choose  their  own  residence  and  employments 
in  the  midst  of  sensuous  and  even  sensual  paradises  ?— that 
God — if  he  be  anything  more  than  the  positive  pole  of  the 
grand,  all-productive — for  creation  there  is  none— electro¬ 
magnetic  battei’y  of  the  Universe,  or  if  he  has  anything  to  do 
except  to  observe  the  involuntary  functions  of  his  own  body 
(the  Universe)  which  are  the  laws  of  all  Nature,  man  inclu¬ 
ded,  who  is  a  part  of  Nature, — that  God,  if  there  be  any 
other  God,  is  too  good^  kind,  loving,  pitifully  disposed,  even 
to  be  displeased  at  whatever  his  human  children  may  choose 
to  do  ;  much  less,  to  punish  them  in  any  spiritual  sense  ? 
As  for  “  indignation  and  wrath,  tribulation  and  anguish,”  as 
expressive  of  the  Divine  relation  to  sin,  and  moral  guilt,  as 
far  as  language  can  express  that  relation, — what  horrid  blas¬ 
phemy  !  of  the  “all-loving  Father.”  Christian  reader,  do  you 
think  I  am  a  man  escaped  from  bedlam,  or  that  I  am  relating 
some  dreadful  nightmare-dream,  because  such  a  theology  could 
never  have  been  conceived  by  any  sane  human  mind  ?  Pri¬ 
thee  do  not  accuse  my  brain  of  originating  such  thoughts 


even  in  its  dreams.  If  I  found  it  subject  to  such,  even  in 
that  state,  I  would  have  inserted  in  my  Prayer  Book  an  extra 
petition  for  defence  against  obsession  and  dsemonopathy.  But 
that  Brains  whicli  hail  from  the  second  or  still  higher  spheres, 
are  capable  of  excogitating  or  adopting,  and  of  inculcating, 
fur  the  good  of  'mankind,  such  doctrines,  I  will  convince  you 
by  quoting  chapter  and  verse  from  the  Canonical  Books,  and 
“Divine  Bevelations,”  of  the  “New  Dispensation.” 

And  let  us  proceed  in  the  reverse  order,  and  begin  with 
the  character  of  God  ;  a  very  important  starting  point  in  all 
other  religions  with  which  I  am  ac(iuainted,  but  apparently, 
very  little  accounted  of  in  this,  except  negatively :  at  which 
I  admired,  until,  in  the  course  of  much  spirit-reading,  which, 
in  some  measure,  prepared  me  for  something  of  the  sort,  I 
learned  that  “the  soul  does  not  love  God  objectivel}^  but 
subjectively,  i.  e.  the  soul  loves  God  through  the  centre  of  its 
own  individuality,  and  not  outside  of  itself !”  (The  Present 
Age  &  Inner  Life,  p.  272.)  There  is  no  need  of  an  “  outside  ” 
God !  “  Deus  sum  !”  I  am  God  myself !  the  Macrocosm  is 

God,  therefore  the  Microcosm  is  God  !  but  Man  is  the  Micro¬ 
cosm,  therefore  Man  is  God  !  what  occasion,  then,  to  look  for 
Deity  “  outside  ”  of  the  centre  of  one’s  own  individuality  ? — 
There  are  vast  numbers  numbers  of  very  sincere  worshipers 
of  God  in  this  form.  This  doctrine,  however,  is  not  new  even 
apocatastatically.  But  I  also  found  it  authoritatively  revealed 
by  an  obsessed  individual,  in  good  and  regular  standing,  that ; 
“  Deity  (whether  “  outside  ”  or  inside,  as  I  suppose,)  is  not 
the  legitimate  object  of  man’s  religion.”  (The  Beligion  of 
Manhood,  p.  94.)  Now  this  I  reckon  one  of  the  original 
thoughts  at  the  announcement  of  which  one  wonders  that  one 
never  thought  of  it  one’s  self,  before.  Por  of  what  possible 
use  can  “  man’s  religion  ”  be  to  God  ?  Why,  obviously,  none, 
the  moment  one  thinks  of  it.  But — I  beg  pardon  of  the 
reader,  and  of  king  Solomon  ;  the  thought,  after  all,  is  but  an 


177 


apocatastatic  originality  !  I  had  forgotten  our  Epicurean 
friends,  in  whose  religion  also  the  Divine  Nature  was  : 

Ipsa  suis  pollens  opibus,  nihil  indiga  nostri. 

However,  even  they  held  that  it  was  no  more  than  polite¬ 
ness  and  good  manners  to  offer  to  the  Deity  some  sort  of  for¬ 
mal  homage,  a  kind  of  pepercorn  quitrent,  although  practical¬ 
ly,  it  made  no  difference  to  Him,  or  to  them.  Even  so  it  can¬ 
not  to  the  Deity  of,  or  to  the  believers  in,  the  religion  of  the 
New  Dispensation,  as  we  shall  see  as  we  proceed  with  the 
investigation  of  the  character  of  the  new — apocatastatically 
new — “outside”  Deity.  We  will  begin  with  very  high,  if  not 
the  very  highest  authority  ;  that  of  one  who  is  a  resident  of 
the  sixth  sphere  when  he  is  at  home,  of  one  who  announces 
himself :  “  In  the  Name  of  God  I  am  Swedenborg.”  And  as 
spirits  cannot  lie,  “  in  the  7iame  of  Godf  as  all  the  priests 
and  parsons  do,  there  is  no  danger  of  his  having  been  “  falsely 
personated  ”  in  this  instance,  and  therefore,  his  teaching  must 
be  among  the  most  authoritative  expositions  of  the  veritable 
orthodox  doctrine  of  the  New  Dispensation.  What,  then,  is 
the  doctrine  of  this  Swedenborg,  “  identified  beyond  a  doubt” 
in  regard  to  the  character  of  God  7 

“  When  the  mind  attempts  to  separate  the  spirit  from  mat¬ 
ter,  it  has  no  just  conception  of  spirit.  Therefore  we  cannot 

invest  the  Creator  with  form  or  personality.” - form  or 

personality  ?  do  I  understand  you  Sir  ?  do  you  mean  to  say 
that  we  can  not  invest  the  Creator  either  with  form  or  person¬ 
ality  ?  or  do  you  mean  to  imply,  as  would  seem  from  the  con¬ 
text,  that  form  and  personality  are  the  same  ?  Is  it  possible 
that  you ;  “  In  the  name  of  God  Swedenborg,”  that  you, 
mathematician,  theologian,  philosopher,  metaphysician,  of  no 
mean  rank  in  either  character  while  on  earth,  have  so  jyro- 
gressed  backwards^  all  the  way  to  the  sixth  sphere,  as  to 
have  become  capable  of  confounding  form  with  personality, 
and  of  supposing  that  a  personal  Deity  must  be  inclosed  in 
some  human,  or  other  circumscription,  and  be  “  located,”  or 

23 


178 


move  from  place  to  place  ?  In  the  promised,  and  I  suppose, 
forthcoming  next  Volume  of  Spiritualism,  will  you  have  the 
goodness,  my  excellent  spirit-friend,  to  explain  ?  The  ques¬ 
tion  is  a  personal  one,  involving  your  intellectual  character, 
and  I  trust  for  the  honor  of  metaphysics  also,  and  the  credit 
of  the  philosophy  of  the  spheres,  that  I  have  misunderstood 
you.  But  let  us  go  on  with  the  quotation  : — 

“  What  sort  of  person  would  that  God  be  if  the  form  de¬ 
pended  upon  the  idea  of  man  ?  The  form  would  resemble 
that  of  man,  as  he  is  supposed  to  be  the  image  (do  you  mean 
in  the  same  form  ?)  of  the  Being  who  created  him.  There  is 
no  point  from  which  an  idea  can  be  formed ;  (idea  of  what  ? 
of  a  form  ?)  and  if  with  all  the  various  attributes  with  which 
the  Creator  is  invested,  there  is  but  one  point  from  which  any 
resemblance  could  be  traced,  how  utterly  does  the  mind  fail  in 
carrying  out  this  connection  other  than  through  the  whole  of 
God’s  manifestatioas  of  himself  through  his  icorks  !  But 
the  condition  of  matter  necessary  for  such  an  amalgamation 
must  be  unknown  to  us  as  well  as  to  you,  for  if  the  identifica¬ 
tion  of  spirit  with  matter  were  unfolded  to  your  minds,  the 
whole  mystery  of  the  Great  First  Cause  loould  he  under- 
stood.”  (Spiritualism,  Section  31,) 

Here  we  have,  very  distinctly  set  forth,  the  identification  of 
God  and  Nature,  or  pantheism.  The  universe  is  God,  and 
God  is  the  universe.  We  cannot  separate  the  amalgamation 
here,  but  we  may,  in  thought,  distinguish  the  spirit  from  the 
matter  of  God,  How,  then,  does  the  spirit  act  upon  the  mat¬ 
ter  ? 

“  When  we  view  Him  as  a  principle,  existing  in  everything, 
still  resolving  itself  into  direct  and  pertinent  manifestation  of 
the  incomprehensible  specialties  of  his  nature,  we  have  a  basis 
from  which  we  can  commence  our  reasoning.”  *  *  *  u 

short  God  exists  as  a  principled  (Spiritualism,  Section  8.) 

That  is,  we  have  the  “  Eternal  Laws,”  which  are  the  Soul  of 
God,  and  the  Matter,  which  is  his  visible  Body,  the  Universe. 
With  this  doctrine  of  Swedenborg  also  agrees  the  spirit  of 


179 


Daniel  Webster,  who  says  :  “The  poet  was  inspired  when  he 
said, 

‘  All  are  but  parts  of  one  stupendous  whole. 

Whose  body  nature  is,  and  God  the  soul.” 

(Spiritualism,  Appendix,  p.  396.) 

I  do  not  certainly  know  the  relative  rank  and  authority  of 
the  sacred  books  of  the  new  theology,  or  more  properly  phys¬ 
iology,  in  the  ancient  sense  of  that  term  ;  but  I  infer  that 
“  Nature’s  Divine  Revelations  ”  is  the  fountain  head  of  doc¬ 
trine,  from  the  fact  that  in  almost  all  the  spirit-books  and 
spirital  literature  which  I  have  examined,  the  essential  dog¬ 
mata,  and  to  some  extent  the  language,  and  forms  of  expres¬ 
sion,  are  evidently  taken  from  that  book.  The  form  and 
shape  of  doctrine,  there,  in  regard  to  God ; 

“  If  shape  it  may  be  called  which  shape  has  none, 
Distinguishable  in  member,  joint,  or  limb  ;  ” 

is  also  that  of  pantheism,  the  relation  of  the  spirit  to  the  mat¬ 
ter,  of  the  soul  to  the  body  of  the  universe  being  “  all  various¬ 
ly  ”  represented. 

“In  the  BEGINNING,  the  univercoelum  was  one  bound¬ 
less,  undefinable,  unimaginable  ocean  of  Liquid  Fire !  ” 
“  Matter  and  Power  were  existing  as  a  whole,  inseperableP 
“  Matter  and  Motion  are  co-eternal  principles,  established  by 
virtue  of  their  own  nature  ;  and  they  were  the  Germ,  contain¬ 
ing  all  properties,  all  essences,  all  principles,  to  produce  all 
other  forms  and  spheres  that  are  now  known  to  be  existing. 
The  great  original  Mass  was  a  substance  containing  Avithin 
itself  the  embryo  of  its  own  perfection.  It  became  pregnated 
by  virtue  of  its  oxen  laxrs,  and  was  controlled,  guided,  and  per¬ 
fected,  by  virtue  of  its  OAvn  omnipotent  PoAver  !  ”  “  The  Pow¬ 

er  contained  in  this  great  Vortex  was  the  Great  Positive 
Mind  ! — and  its  development  xvas  Eternal  Motion !  And 
so  Matter  and  Motion  constituted  the  original  condition  of  all 
things  !  ”  “  It  was  impossible  for  this  internal,  invisible.  Po¬ 

sitive  Power  to  exist  ivithout  Matter  «s  its  accompanhnent 
and  Vehicle.  In  order  that  this  Matter  might  assume  fox'ms^ 


180 


the  action  of  the  Great  Positive  Power  was  necessary  to  im¬ 
pel  it  to  higher  states  of  progression.  So  the  Matter,  thus 
acted  upon,  was  developed  until  it  became  an  external  Equi- 
lihrimn  or  Negative  of  the  Great  Positive  Power  internally 
acting  upon  it.  And  thus  Positive  and  Negative  were  eter¬ 
nally  established  in  Matter.”  “  The  universe  must  be  ani¬ 
mated  by  a  Living  Spirit,  to  form  as  a  whole.  One  Grand 
Man.  That  Spirit  is  the  Cause  of  its  present  organized  form 
and  is  the  Disseminator  of  motion,  life,  sensation  and  intelli¬ 
gence,  throughout  all  the  ramifications  of  this  one  Grand  Man. 
Then,  again,  this  interior  Spirit  must  have  a  Form,  (the  dif¬ 
ference  between  the  young  and  the  old  Swedenborg  here  is 
only  apparent)  through  which  its  attributes  may  be  developed 
in  order  that  it  may  be  called  a  perfect  Organization  ;  and 
that  Form  is  the  expanded  Universe.''  (The  Principles  of 
Nature,  Part  ii.,  or  Nature’s  Divine  Revelations.) 

Here  we  have,  as  before,  the  Laws  of  Nature,  as  the  subjec¬ 
tive  Deity  or  Soul  of  God,  and  the  visible  Universe  as  the 
objective  Deity  or  Body  of  God.  Or  God  the  inward,  object¬ 
ive  Nature  the  outward.  Or  God  the  positive  Pole,  and  Mat* 
ter  the  negative  Pole  of  this  Grand  Electro-magnetic  Battery 
the  Universe.  But  is  the  relation  of  these  two  poles  of  the 
Great  Battery  literally  physical  and  without  volition  as  would 
be  naturally  inferred  from  the  language  ? 

“  What  has  saved  these  living  worlds  from  destruction  ? 
It  certainly  will  not  be  presumed  that  this  is  done  by  a  direct 
exercise  of  the  will  of  Omnipotence.  *  *  *  It  would, 
indeed,  be  a  thankless  and  laborious  work  of  Omnipotence  to 
keep  his  will  perpetually  on  the  rack  in  order  to  preserve 
the  revolution  and  harmony  of  the  planets.  *  *  * 

truth  is  this,  the  Deity  is  himself  controlled  by  the  same  law 
which  controls  the  revolution  of  the  planets.  *  *  * 

material  universe  is  the  physical  body  of  God.  The  innume¬ 
rable  suns,  planets,  satellites,  are  the  vital  organs  of  his  body 
—the  stomachs  !  livers  !  hearts  !  lungs  !  brains  !  &c  of  his 
organization.  *  *  *  *  And  the  Eternal  Mind  does  not 

any  more  control  the  harmonious  performance  of  these  legiti- 


181 


mate  functions  of  the  countless  organs  of  his  body,  than  does 
man  control  the  circulation  of  blood.  *  *  *  Inasmuch  as 

God  is  a  fact,  a  Reality,  a  Principle,  it  is  agreeable  with 
science  to  suppose  that  he  is  Substance — is  Matter.  *  *  * 

Inasmuch  as  God  is  fixed  in  Nature,  like  the  main-spring  of  a 
watch,  or  the  heart  in  the  human  body,  so  also  is  his  mode  of 
existing  and  acting  fixedly  determined  by  the  very  fact  of  his 
being  in  existence.  *  *  *  *  jjg  cannot  “  permit  ”  the 

great  procession  of  Nature  to  cease,  nor  the  laws  of  planetary 
motion  to  remain  suspended  ;  because  these  processes  and 
laws  are  the  involuntary  and  uncontrollable  physiological, 
mechanical,  chemical,  electrical,  and  magnetical  processions  of 
his  uncreated  constitution.  He  did  not  create  these  laws  and 
processes — hence  he  cannot  sitspeiid,  alter,  or  control  thetn. 
*  *  *  The  Laws  of  Nature,  like  Nature  itself,  and  the 
human  soul,  were  not  created  l)y  the  Deity,  but  were  and  are, 
the  spontaneous  atributes  of  his  divine  Existence  and  consti¬ 
tution.  In  other  words,  they  are  the  inevitable  and  indis¬ 
pensable  developments  of  the  Divine  Essence.  *  *  *  The 

Divine  Essence  being  the  Soul,  the  Univercoelum  is  the 
Body.  Moreover,  the  latter  is  a  perfect  representative,  or  in 
other  words,  is  a  bold  and  clear  expression  of  the  interior  pos¬ 
sessions  of  the  Divine  Mind.  *  *  *  Therefore,  according 

to  scientific  principles  we  are  led  to  the  legitimate  conclusion, 
that  all  the  life  of  plants  and  animals,  and  all  the  phenomena 
of  attraction  and  gravitation,  and  of  the  imponderable  elements, 
are  referable  to  the  Active  and  Moving  Principle  called  God.” 
(The  Great  Ilarmonia,  hi.  59,  and  ii.  273,  289,  347,  370.) 

We  need  not  inquire  in  regard  to  the  personality  of  this 
God,  since  the  answer  can  be  of  no  practical  consequence. 
We  are  told,  indeed,  that  “in  one  sense  he  is  an  individual, 
and  in  another  sense  he  is  not  an  individual.”  But  a  Being 
who,  or  rather  which,  in  all  possible  relations,  acts  involunta¬ 
rily  and  of  necessity,  cannot  possess  the  character,  attributes, 
and  responsibilities  of  a  Person,  in  any  moral  or  spiritual 
sense,  or  be  capable  of  any  spiritual  relations.  This  God  is 


182 


spoken  of,  indeed  as  having  the  attributes  of  Justice,  Love^ 
Mercy,  Wisdom,  &c.,  but  “Justice  is  the  equilibrium  of  for¬ 
ces,”  and  so  the  rest  are,  and  can  only  be,  the  involuntary  de¬ 
velopments,  results,  functions,  of  the  Divine  Organism,  more 
properly  secretions,  elaborated  in  some  of  the  “  hearts  !  ”  or 
“  livers  !  ”  of  Its  Body.  This  irreverence,  reader,  is  not 
mine. 

We  can  understand,  now,  readily,  why  it  is  that  “  Deity  is 
not  the  legitimate  object  of  man’s  religion.”  Certainly,  t/iis 
Deity  cannot  be  the  object  of  any  man’s  religion,  since  religion 
implies  spiritual  relations.  But  can  any  one  conceive  of  spir¬ 
itual  relations,  that  is  of  conscious,  or  unconscious  moral  obli¬ 
gations  or  responsibility  to  an  involuntary  law  of  Nature? — 
Nature,  the  e.xternal,  is  a  ^‘‘perfect  representative”  of  the  in¬ 
ternal,  or  Positive  Pole  of  the  Deity.  lie  is  ivliat  He  is,  and  all 
He  is,  by  the  “  inevitable  and  indispensable  developements  of 
his  Essence  so  that  there  is  no  God  “  separate  from  or  out¬ 
side  of  Nature,”  or  any  place  left  for  the  exercise  of  personal, 
spiritual,  attrilmtes.  However,  therefore,  men  may  admire 
and  wonder  at  some  of  the  manifested  functions  of  this  “  Ani¬ 
mal  itself,”  however  the  sensational,  social,  testhetical,  sciential 
faculties  may  find  their  satisfying  correlations  ;  the  spiritual 
can  find  none,  and  Religion  is  plainly  impossible. 

“  Qua  re  Religio,  pedibus  subjecta,  vicissim 

Obteritur,  nos  exsequat  victoria  coelo.” 

But  though  all  spiritists  and  spirits,  for  the  most  part,  are 
redolent  of  “  Nature’s  Divine  Revelations,”  plainly  pickled 
more  or  less  in  that  menstruum,  nevertheless,  many  believers, 
still  “  in  the  form  ”  and  “  unprogressed  ”  spirits,  have  not  yet 
risen  to  the  heights  of  “  the  Harmonial  Philosophy.”  These 
evidently  are  still  laboring,  to  some  extent,  under  the  ordinary 
moral  instincts  of  humanity,  or  the  misteachings  of  some  of  the 
“  mythological  religions,”  or,  at  least,  their  language  often  im¬ 
plies,  perhaps  unconsciously  to  themselves,  that  they  have  not 
wholly  eradicated  their  hereditary  Christian  belief  that,  “  God 
is  a  Spirit,”  that  is,  a  Divine  Personality,  all  of  whose  attri- 


183 


butes  are  such^  and  exercised  in  such  modes,  as  Ilis  Trans- 
cendently  Free  Will  directs — otherwise  He  could  not  be  “  the 
object  of  man’s  religion,”  or  capable  of  any  moral  or  spiritual 
relations.  But  is  this  God,  in  his  moral  character,  in  the  minds 
of  the  even  half  emancipated  (from  the  errors  of  Revelation,^  so 
called,”)  spiritists  and  spirits,  the  God  of  Christianity,  the  God 
whom  Christ  “hath  declared?”  Ah!  but  Christ  has  been 
misrepresented,  slandered,  that  good  man  !  he  never  did  “  de¬ 
clare  ”  any  such  God — the  true  spirital  God  is  good  too  ; 
wRat  a  going  back  to  mythological  conceptions  to  imagine  Him 
as  capable  of  being  “  angry  with  the  wicked  !  !  ”  Men,  indeed, 
in  proportion  to  their  moral  purity,  in  proportion  to  the  true 
development  of  the  spiritual  in  them,  are  conscious  of  very 
deep  feelings  of  disapprobation,  and  repulsion,  in  relation  to 
impiety,  vice,  crime,  wickedness,  si?i  ;  in  some  cases,  amount¬ 
ing  to  “  an  honest  indignation  ;”  as  where  the  impetuous  Paul 
uses  that  shocking  expression  ;  “  If  any  man  love  not  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  let  him  be  amdsixa."  But  this  is  mere  hu¬ 
man  ^‘passion,’’  and  “unprogressed”  weakness;  and  to  attri¬ 
bute  any  analogous  emotion  to  God  would  be  to  impeach  his 
goodness ! !  and  merit  the  strongest  indignation  that  the  sj)ir- 
ital  God  is  capable  of ;  as  witness  the  unhappy  fate  of  the 
poor  parson  in  “  Spiritualism,”  Section  thirty-nine,  who,  much 
to  his  astonishment,  found  himself  in  the  spheres,  at  the  very 
bottom  round  of  the  ladder  of  progression,  because,  in  this 
world,  he  misrepresented  “  a  kind  and  beneficent  God  whose 
only  manifestation  is  smiling  on  his  creatures,  by  calling  him 
angry  I  1  ”  This  kind  of  moral  or  spiritual  relation  of  God  to¬ 
wards  sin  ;  that  aspect  of  severe  and  stern  disapproval  and  re¬ 
buke  of  moral  obliquity,  wdiich  has  sometimes  been  known  to 
frighten  weak,  nervous  sinners,  is  very  unspirital ;  it  is  mere 
terraqueous  humanity  “  unprogressed.”  “  Nature  everywhere 
is  God’s  acknowdedgment  of  himself,  and  is  enough  to  satisfy 
the  most  earnest  longing  of  all  men,  if  it  had  not  been  perver¬ 
ted  by  the  arts  of  man  and  the  concerted  plans  to  form  a 
Church  on  earth  which  should  shadow  to  the  world  God  a^  a 


184 


spirit,  but  in  reality,  personating  God  as  a  nianP  (Sweden¬ 
borg,  in  Spiritualism,  Sec.  40.) 

If  such  is  the  character,  and  “  constitution,”  of  the  Deity  of 
the  New  Dispensation  ;  what,  consequently,  should  be  the  Hu¬ 
manity  ?  The  old  adage  is  verified  ;  like  Master,  like  Man.” 
The  God  is  incapable  of  moral  relations  and  the  Man  is  equally 
so.  In  both,  according  to  the  highest  authority,  there  is  an 
inevitable  development  of  their  Essence  under  laAvs  which  they 
did  not  create,  and  cannot  control.  Man,  not  having  any  “  free¬ 
will,”  is  not  a  spiritual  being  at  all.  He-  is  an  individual,  but 
he  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  a  j^ersoTi,  since  personality  implies 
“  free-will  ”  and  moral  relations.  Animals  have  not  person¬ 
ality,  though  they  may  be  personified,  and  the  spirital  Man  is 
only  an  animal  on* “a  higher  plane ”  of  intelligence.  But  I 
have  promised  to  give  chapter  and  verse. 

“  Considering  the  inseparable  connexion  which  is  sustained 
between  the  Universe  and  the  Deity,  the  whole  forming  one 
grand  System,  it  is  impossible  for  any  rational  mind  to  con¬ 
ceive  of  such  a  thing  as  free-will,^''  or  independent  volition,” 
*****  ‘^  Man  is  a  part  of  this  great  Body  of  the  Di¬ 

vine  mind.  He  is  a  gland,  or  minute  organ,  which  performs 
specific  functions,  and  receives  life  and  animation  from  the  in¬ 
terior,  moving.  Divine  Principle.”  *  *  *  *  If  it  can  be 

proved  that  there  are  organs  in  the  human  form,  not  dependant 
on  the  form  for  motion,  life,  or  existence,  then  it  may  be  prov¬ 
ed  that  man  is  an  independent  being,  and  exercises  what  has 
been  termed  “  free-will.”  (Nature’s  Divine  Kevelations,  pp. 
463-4.)  “  The  doctrine  of  the  free-will  or  agency  of  the  soul, 

is  positively  contradicted  by  everything  in  nature  and  man.” 
(The  great  Harmonia  Vol.  ii.  p.  230.)  But  what  is  to  be  done 
with  the  universal  consciousness  of  mankind  on  this  point, 
which  unequivocally  asserts  moral  freedom  and  consequent  re¬ 
sponsibility  ?  For  the  profound  logic  by  which  this  conscious¬ 
ness  is  attempted  to  be  proved  fallacious,  see  Nature’s  Divine 
Revelations,  page  433.  There  is  too  much  of  it  for  my  limits. 
It  is  enough  for  my  purpose  to  refer  to  it.  That  such  an  at- 


185 


tempt  has  been  made  is  sufficiently  characteristic  of  the  sys¬ 
tem  Avhich  needs  it  -without  exhibiting  the  sophistry  itself. — 
Without  moral  freedom,  there  can,  of  course,  be  no  such  thing 
as  sin ;  for  -would  it  not  be  laughable  to  hear  one  speak  of  his 
horse  as  a  sinner.  But,  “  Man  is  a  part  of  Nature,”  in  every 
department  of  his  being,  for  his  spirit  is  only  rarified  and  at¬ 
tenuated  Matter,  he  is  therefore,  a  part  of  Nature  in  the  same 
sense  as  the  horse  or  the  tree.  Moreover,  this  attenuated 
Matter  has  been  filtered  to  a  pretty  high  state  of  purity,  for 
“  The  innate  divine7iess  of  the  spirit  of  man  prohibits  the  pos¬ 
sibility  of  wickedness  or  unrighteousness.”  *  *  * 

“  Sin,  indeed,  in  the  common  acceptation  of  that  term  does  not 
really  exist.”  The  consistency  here  is  beautiful.  “  Moral 
death  ”  is  a  manufactured  expression,  meaning  nothing.  Spir¬ 
itual  death  is  only  another  form  of  the  latter  expression  ;  and 
it  never  had,  and  never  can  have,  the  least  particle  of  signifi¬ 
cation.”  (Nature’s  Divine  Revelations,  pp.  413-14,  521.) 
Now  these  are  what  one  may  call  “  Divine  Revelations,”  in¬ 
deed  !  and  cannot  fail  to  afford  delightful  consolation  to  “  poor 
sinners,”  misconsciously  such,  who  find  that  it  -v’as  only  a 
sheepish  and  false  humility  which  led  them  to  suppose  that 
they  were  worthy  of  God’s  displeasure. 

In  “  Spiritualism  ”  the  doctrines  in  regard  to  the  character 
of  man  are  essentially  the  same  with  those  just  quoted,  though 
less  fully,  or  rather,  more  guardedly  expressed.  For,  says 
the  spirit-Bacon  :  (page  209) — “We  have  felt  that  the  ad¬ 
vance  of  any  opinion  opposing  the  very  bais  of  the  faith  of 
much  of  the  Christian  world,  would,  before  the  fact  of  spirit 
communion  being  recognized,  destroy  all  that  we  intended  to 
accomplish.”  They,  (that  is,  the  spirits)  therefore,  speak 
more  cautiously,  and  incidentally,  yet  indicate,  plainly  enough, 
the  doctrine  that  evil  has  no  spiritual  origin,  but  arises  out 
of  the  imperfection  of  matter,  and  other  circumstajices,  in 
which  man  is  placed,  or,  in  other  words,  man  can  have  no 
spiritual  accountability,  because  he  always  means  well.” 
They  speak  of  “  the  evil  direction  which  material  connexion. 

24 


186 


produces.”  (p.  145.)  “  Circumstances  control  the  acts  of  man 

far  beyond  the  belief  of  a  majority  of  philosophers.”  *  *  ^  * 
“  The  good  is  there,  but  the  evil  is  consequent  on  the  thousand 
contingencies  which  beset  man  on  every  side.”  (pp.  190-2.) 

The  following  throws  light  in  more  directions  than  one.  It 
is  the  confession  of  a  spirit  whose  bod]/,  it  seems,  had  been  a 
murderer  not  long  before,  and  who,  in  the  language  of  “  the 
Judge,”  “came  to  give  his  experience,  as  one  who  had  been 
relieved  from  the  evils  brought  upon  him  by  the  present  ill- 
organized  state  of  society,  and  who,  through  an  evil  deed, 
(nothing  but  murder,)  had  been  ushered  into  a  better  and 
ha/rpier  state  than  that  which  he  occupied  while  here,”  “  I 
(the  Judge)  remarked,  that  I  supposed  it  was  the  force  of 
circumstances  which  had  led  him  to  commit  the  deed  for 
which  he  had  suffered  ?”  “  That  is  it.  Judge.  That  is  the 

evil  of  society.”  *  *  *  a  jje  said  that  I  must  not  suppose 

he  w^as  convicted  of  a  bloody  crime,  and  then  sent  direct  to  a 
state  of  happiness.  Oh,  no ;  far  from  that.  But  when  his 
spirit  was  released  from  his  vile  body,  made  so  by  his  evil 
]}assio?is,  he  was  led  to  a  spot,  and  told  to  choose  his  compan¬ 
ions.”  *  *  *  “My  choice.  Judge,”  he  said,  “was  soon 

made,  for  I  never  loved  evil  for  the  sake  of  evil,  but  I  was  led 
into  it  by  circumstances,  combined  with  my  unregulated  pas- 
siojis.”  (Spirit-confession  of  Tom  Jones  Section  27.)  The 
doctrine  of  the  “  old  mythological  religion  ”  that  a  man  is 
‘morally  and  spiritually,  wicked  and  guilty,  for  the  very 
reason  that  he  yields  to  the  force  of  circumstances,  and  that 
he  obeys,  instead  of  controlling  his  /passions,  can  have  no 

place,  obviously,  in  the  New  Dispensation,  because - the 

spiritals  are  not  in  a  “  state  of  probation,”  but  in  a  state  of 
“  progression.” 

Such  is  the  God,  and  such  is  the  Man,  of  the  religion 
which,  as  the  spirits  inform  us,  (Spiritualism,  p.  227)  is  to  be 
“  universal.”  So  let  the  stale  old  mythologies  pack  their 
trunks,  and  prepare  to  take  leave,  in  search  of  more  fittino- 
disciples  ;  for,  “  Many  globes,  spheres,  or  planets  contain  in- 


187 

habitants  of  far  inferior  organization  to  man.”  (Spiritualism, 
p.  112.) 

The  only  remaining  question  of  any  importance  in  a  relig¬ 
ious  aspect,  whether  in  relation  to  this  world  or  the  next, 
regards  the  destiny  of  man  hereafter.  In  regard  to  this 
world,  are  men  to  be  restrained  by  the  consideration  of  any 
“  account  to  give  ”  after  death  ?  and  in  regard  to  the  next,  is 
there  any  danger  of  falling  under  the  severe  and  permanent 
displeasure  of  the  Deity  ?  and  if  so,  how  is  it  to  be  avoided  ? 
The  answers  to  these  questions  follow  naturally  as  any  other 
logical  conclusion  from  the  premises  already  laid  down.  The 
case  of  Tom  Jones  is  a  fair  specimen  of  the  teachings  of  the 
(about  to  be  “  universal  ”)  doctrine  on  this  point.  If  a  man 
has  been  unfortunately  wicked — and  all  men  who  are  wicked, 
I  beg  pardon,  iiiisdirected^  are  unfortunately  so — in  this 
Avorld,  from  the  force  of  circumstances,  and  influence  of  bad 
company,  what  does  he  deserve  in  the  next  but  to  be  placed 
under  more  favorable  circumstances,  and  in  better  company? 
Every  man,  like  the  lucky  Tom,  who  was  hung  in  good  time, 
chooses  his  place  of  residence  and  his  associates  in  the 
spheres. 

And  as  taste  is  not  a  matter  to  be  disputed  about,  all  must 
of  course,  be  equally  happy,  since  all  equally  have  their 
choice.  “  The  soul  is  a  Cosmopolite  amid  the  eternity  of 
worlds.  And  is  it  strange  that  it  should  select  an  abiding 
place  where  it  can  be  most  happy?”  “  Well,  the  soul  has 
waked  up  in  a  new  body  and  on  a  new  earth.  *  *  *  *  * 

After  the  natural  curiosity  of  the  spirit  has  been  gratified — 
for  under  every  form  of  organization  the  spirit  develops  its 
desire  to  learn — it  is  chosen,  or  rather,  it  selects,  by  the  force 
and  direction  of  its  affinities,  the  associates  with  which  it  will 
daily  mingle,  and  the  neighborhood  in  which  it  will  reside.” — 
(Spiritualism,  123,  &  197.) 

True,  they  sometimes  choose  very  loio  associates,  quite 
vulgar  company,  and  in  rather  dark  places ;  just  as  some 
people  select  the  same  sort  of  companions,  and  choose  to  spend 


188 


their  time  in  tlie  low  hells  ”  of  this  world,  which,  however, 
arc  quite  to  their  taste — so  “  unprogressed  ”  are  they — and 
very  promotive  of  their  happiness.  There  is,  indeed,  one 
place  spoken  of, — the  Avitness,  being' of  the  celestial  aristoc¬ 
racy,  had  not  seen  it, — which  Avould  seem  to  have  been  inten¬ 
ded  for  a  place  of  punishment — were  it  supposablc  that  such 
a  good  God  could  have  the  heart  to  punish  the  unfortunate 
Tom  Joneses,  and  other  “  unlucky  devils,” — rather  than  adap¬ 
ted  to  the  taste  of  anybody,  unless  it  might  be  that  of  a 
Laplander.  This  place  is  described  as  an  immense  plain,  flat, 
and  Avithout  any  variety  except  one  mountain.  Here  the  poor 
spirits  farm  it.  But,  miserere  mei !  such  a  chance  of  farm¬ 
ing  !  Listen, — “  They  toil  for  sustenance,  and  as  their  land  is 
sandy,  and  no  sunlight !  (think  of  that,  sinners,)  there  must 
be  great  labor  to  enable  the  earth  to  bring  forth  enough  to 
sustain  them.”  (Spiritualism,  p.  222.) 

And  surely,  one  Avould  think  so  !  Try  it  in  the  bottoms  of 
your  cellars,  ye  despisers  of  the  sunny  spheres,  and  get  your¬ 
selves  accustomed  to  it,  for  thither,  perhaps,  leads  the  next 
stage  of  you7'  “  progress,”— unless  you  can  get  yourselves 
hanged  and  so  become  deserving  of  some  lionizing  and  pity. 
However,  these  spirits  like  the  place,  just  as  the  Dutch  like 
Holland,  and  as  the  Vermonters  like  snoAV  ;  it  is,  after  all, 
quite  to  their  taste.  Because  if  it  is  not,  they  are  at  liberty 
to  emigrate  whenever  they  choose,  and  AV'herever  they  choose  ; 
and  from  their  mountain  are  to  be  seen  abundance  of  capital 
farming  lands,  Avith  plenty  of  daylight.  Besides,  they  have  a 
great  many  missionaries  among  them,  who  kindly  describe  to 
them  the  upper  country  and  invite  them  to  ‘‘  ascend.”  Hence 
it  is  plain  that  they  are  very  Avell  content  Avhere  they  are. 
True,  “  they  do  not  study,”  notAvithstanding  that  under  every 
form  of  organization  the  spirit  develops  its  desire  to  learn,” 
“  they  do  not  sing,”  they  do  not  Avrite,  but  then  they  have 
plenty  of  fighting,  (Idem,  ibidem.) — the  “  innate  divineness  ” 
being  “  misdirected  ” — which  is  as  good  for  them,  that  is, 
makes  them  as  happy,  as  dancing  and  whist  do  the  aristo- 


189 


cratic  spirit-gentry  higher  up.  That  is,  in  short,  the  doctrine 
is  everywhere  fully  insisted  on  in  the  canonical  Books,  that 
every  man  is  to  be  hajjpy  in  the  next  world,  according  to  his 
own  standard  of  happiness. 

Rejoice,  therefore,  and  be  glad,  ye  cheaters  of  the  ignorant 
— ye  oppressors  of  the  weak — ye  who  pervert  the  cause  of  the 
,  poor — ye  unrighteous  magistrates — ye  bribed  judges — ye  pol¬ 
iticians  who  would  sacrifice  the  good  of  your  country  for  all 
time  to  some  mean  and  momentary  purpose  of  your  own — ye 
who  live  in  slothful  and  proud  luxury  on  the  bloody  sweat  of 
your  slaves — ye  slavetraders,  and  dealers,  and  drivers,  and 
catchers — ye  keepers  of  bloodhounds  to  hunt  slaves  withal — 
ye  drunkard  makers — -ye  patent  poisoners — ye  profane  and 
impious — ye  panders  to  impurity— ye  sluggards,  idle  drones, 
moths  in  the  hive  of  industry,  lazy  wretches,  who  by  the  nat¬ 
ural  laws  of  “  progress  ”  arrive  at  the  gallows,  where  you  ac¬ 
cuse  “  circumstances,”  and  “  the  organization  of  society  ” — ye 
thieves — ye  robbers — ye  pirates — ye  murderers,  assassins,  se¬ 
ducers — ye  steeped  in  all  nameless  vice  and  crime — ye  Burkes 
— ye  Arnolds — -ye  fiddling  Neros — ye  Katherines — ye  Cata- 
lines — ye  Douglases — and,  sum  of  all,  ye  apologists  for  all 
this  and  these — rejoice,  I  say,  and  be  glad,  at  your  deliver¬ 
ance  from  the  heavy  incubus  of  conscience  which  the  “  old  my¬ 
thological  religion  ”  had  well  nigh  fastened  upon  you — rejoice, 
for  God  loves  you  right  well — do  not  suppose  that  he  can  be 
“  angry, He,  “  whose  only  manifestation  is  smiling  on  his 
creatures,”  and  never  more  so  than  when  he  sees  them  happy 
in  their  own  way — go  on,  therefore,  indulge  your  tastes  ;  Avhy 
else  were  they  given  you  ?  and  in  the  next  world  your  souls, 
being  “  cosmopolites,”  shall  choose  their  residence,  their  em¬ 
ployments,  their  company,  according  to  their  then  spirital 
tastes  and  find  the  next  world  even  as  this,  only  much  more 
abundant. 

Christian  reader,  have  I  drawn  other  than  a  just  and  legiti¬ 
mate  conclusion  from  the  premises  ?  Are  you  ready  to  ac¬ 
cept  the  conclusion  ?  or  to  admit  the  premises  ?  For  what 


190 


are  tlie  premises,  but  tlie  revival  of  the  stale  and  impudent 
sophisms  which  the  better  heathens,  and  heathen  philosophies 
rejected  witii  scorn  ?  the  same  which  slunk  abashed,  for  a 
time,  before  the  polished  irony  of  Plato  and  the  quiet  but  keen 
sarcasm  of  Socrates  ;  the  same  which  insulted  the  very  first 
Christianity  by  asserting  themselves  to  be  superior  to  its  doc¬ 
trines  ;  and  which  confirmed  their  authority  Ijy  the  same 
manifestations  as  now — asserting  too,  as  now,  that  the  magi¬ 
cians  who  produced  them  were  the  same  in  kind  as  the  Foun¬ 
der  of  Christianity,  hut  superior  to  him  in  skill.  (See  Euse¬ 
bius  in  nie):oclem.) 

But  sophistry  is  of  perennial  growth,  and  is  not  likely  to 
die  in  our  time.  Are  these  the  doctrines  which — but  I  will 
not  insult  you  by  comparing  them  with  Christianity — are 
they  doctrines  which — ivliere  they  have  prevailed,  as  they  have 
often  to  some  extent,  and  sometimes  to  great  extent — have  ever 
reformed  the  world,  or  which  would  seem  calculated  to  produce 
that  effect  ?  oh,  but  if  God  is  represented  as  all  love  all  men 
will  love  him  !  !  All  men  will  despise  him  ;  and  no  man  ever 
loved  long  ivhat  he  did  not  respect.  A  view  of  the  Deity  this 
as  desradins:  to  man  also  as  it  is  to  God  ;  for  who  but  an 
animal  would  desire  or  accept  such  a  Divinity  ?  What  were 
He  but  a  “  King  Log,^^  for  filthy  frogs  first  to  croak  for,  and 
then  to  croak  upon  7 

But  do  not  the  spiritists  and  spirits  teach  morality  and  the 
love  of  one’s  neighbor?  Indeed  they  do — and  for  what  rea¬ 
son  the  latter  do  so  perhaps  lamblichus  can  inform  us  (see 
chap.  xiv.  p.  172) — they  do  indite  of  virtue  and  “brotherhood” 
as  prettily  and  sentimentally  as  young  misses  are  accustomed 
to  of  friendship.  And  with  such  a  Deity  and  Humanity  as 
go  along  with  this  part  of  their  doctrine,  I  doubt  not  “  the  old 
mythological  Devil,”  were  he  still  extant,  would  agree  to  fur¬ 
nish  missionaries  to  preach  it,  (at  least  spirit-missionaries,)  to 
the  whole  world  ;  knowing  as  he  must,  from  repeated  experi¬ 
ments,  how  much  the  same  would  be  likely  to  “  inure  to  his 
benefit.”  For  what  is  morality  eradicated  from  the  spiritual 


191 


nature  of  man  and  unprotected  by  the  sanctions  of  a  spiritual 
religion,  but  a  flower  plucked  from  its  parent  stem,  to  fade 
and  wither  ;  or  a  plant  cut  off'  at  the  root  ? 

Such  is  an  outline  of  the  celestial,  say  rather  scelestal  doc¬ 
trines  ;  such  is  the  character,  in  its  relations  to  morality  and 
religion  of  the  movement  which  calls  itself  “  The  New  Dis¬ 
pensation,”  “The  NeAV  Era,”  “ opportunity  not  before  vouch¬ 
safed  to  mortal  man,”  and  by  other  periphrases  asserting  its 
claim  to  be  the  result  of  hitherto  unattained  “  progress  ;  ”  and 
yet,  notwithstanding  it  is  particularly — often  in  the  most  vul¬ 
gar  and  ribald  style — abusive  of  the  Bible  and  all  its  friends, 
it  is  sometimes  condescendingly  willing  to  believe  that  its 
predecessors  may,  perhaps,  be  found  among  the  best  of  the 
old  Jewish  prophets  ;  and  modestly  consents  to  be  considered 
a  sort  of  revised  edition  of  Christianity,  its  crude,  “  mythologi¬ 
cal,  “  unprogressed,”  notions  of  the  Deity,  of  man,  of  evil  spir¬ 
its,  of  depravity,  of  sin,  and  of  future  retribution,  being  “  ex- 
pungedP 

Does  any  Christian  man,  not  misnamed  such,  need  more 
than  to  know  what  it  is  in  order  to  determine  his  conduct  in 
regard  to  it  ?  Certainly  he  whose  feelings  do  not  instinctive¬ 
ly  repel  both  its  doctrines  and  its  practices,  has  good  ground 
of  suspicion  that  his  name  of  Christian  is  only  a  baptismal 
one. 

Is  not,  then,  so  curious  a  subject  to  be  examined  ?  Are  we 
to  carry  our  conservatism  so  far  as  to  condemn  all  new  things 
unheard  ?  To  oppose  all  “  progress  ?”  “  to  cry  out  blasphemy  ? 
as  the  Jews  did  against  Christ  ?”  Ac.,  Ac.,  &c.  There  are 
several  ways  to  answer  all  such  stereotype  questions  “too  nu¬ 
merous  to  mention,” — although  I  ought  not  to  have  forgotten 
to  mention  Galileo — which  are  as  convenient  for  any  conceiv¬ 
ably,  or  inconceivably  audacious  scheme  of  wickedness — take, 
for  instance,  as  a  second  specimen  of  the  latter,  the  new  pseu¬ 
do-democratic  doctrine  of  non-intervention,  which  coolly  asserts 
that  if  the  stronger  moiety  of  the  people  chooses  to  enslave 
the  weaker  no  earthly  power  ought  to  interfere  to  prevent ; 


192 


M’hicli  doctrine  if  democracy  endorse  it  cannot  fail  to  stink  in  the 
nostrils  of  God  and  Man — as  for  the  most  useful  science,  or 
purpose  of  benevolence.  That  which  the  moral  consciousness 
of  mankind  has  for  tAvo  thousand  years,  condemned  as  impious, 
must  be  excessively  impudent  to  present  itself  as  ncAv.  and 
Avould  not  seem  likely  from  its  so  long  and  therefore  probably, 
correctly  established  reputation,  to  be  particularly  promotive 
of  true  progress  ;  yet  doubtless,  could  it  be  approached  by  the 
methods  of  science,  and  coolly  treated  exclusively  as  a  matter 
of  science,  it  is  very  desirable  that  science  should  explain  to 
us  how,  and  by  Avhat  laAvs  of  nature  or  of  art,  of  matter  or  of 
mind,  the  phenomena  are  caused.  Let  it  be  acknowledged  that 
the  manifestations  are  not  all  or  even  many  of  them  to  be  at¬ 
tributed  to  imposture,  still  it  is  obvious  enough  that  a  very 
large  proportion  of  them  are  explainable  by  the  ordinary,  if 
not  fully  understood  laws  of  physiology  and  of  mind.  For  if 
we  subtract  from  the  sum  total  of  the  manifestations  all  those 
which  are  the  effect  of  sheer  jugglery ;  all  those  which  are 
the  result  of  self-deception  ;  all  those  which  are  due  to  mere 
“  hysterica  passio,”  and  other  ordinary  anomalies,  sympathies 
and  diseases  of  the  nervous  system ;  hoAV  much  Avould  be 
left  for  the  spirits  to  do  ?  true,  if  Ave  are  to  have  the  spirits 
we  may  as  Avell  allow  them  to  do  the  whole  if  they  please ;  but 
if  spirits  do  so  much,  ought  they  not,  logically,  to  do  more  1 
For  instance  ;  being,  some  of  them,  extremely  benevolent  spir¬ 
its,  and  highly  desirous  to  emancipate  the  “  universal  wmrld  ” 
from  the  thraldom  of  Christianity  and  other  old  mythologies, 
(See  Spiritualism,  p.  227-)  and  to  convince  us  to  that  end  of 
the  reality  of  spirit-intercourse,  and  of  the  real  existence  of 
those  gardens  and  parks  in  the  spheres  ;  being,  too,  such  rap¬ 
id  travelers  that  they  are  as  good  as  ubiquitous  ;  being  em- 
poAvered,  moreover,  to  read  one’s  thoughts,  and  other  sealed 
packets,  much  more  the  daily  papers,— -Avhy  do  they  not  judge, 
if  they  are  as  anxious  as  they  profess,  to  convince  all  creation, 
accept,  for  example,  Greely’s  offer,  and  give  us  by,  the  hand  of 
Dr.  Dexter,  the  London  evening  news,  to  be  printed  here  in 


193 


the  morning — if  their  locomotives  require  all  night  to  come 
over — and  put  fairly  to  rout  and  to  silence  the  cavils  of  the  in¬ 
credulous.  Certainly,  if  they  are  what  they  pretend,  they 
can  easily  do  so  much,  and  beyond  all  question,  if  they  will 
do  this  correctly  for  one  week  they  will  make  more  converts 
than  the  fortieth  Volume  of  Spiritualism  will  bring  over  to  the 
new  faith  in  as  many  years,  unless  the  thirty-nine  are  to  be 
entirely  dilferent  from  Vol.  I.  Do  not  dodge  the  question,  like 
a  Yankee,  by  asking  another  ;  as,  why  Christianity  does  not 
offer  similar  tests  to  those  it  Avould  convince  ;  because  such  is 
not  the  method  of  Christianity,  which  offers  spriritual  truths 
to  the  spiritual  perception  and  choice  of  those  it  addresses, 
truths  which  carry  their  own  evidence,  and  bear  their  own  cre¬ 
dentials  ;  whereas,  the  new  dispensation  asks  no  man  to  be¬ 
lieve  more  than  is  demonstrated,  through  his  senses,  to  his  un¬ 
derstanding.  We  may  therefore,  legitimately  demand  of  the 
spirits  all  the  evidence  of  that  kind  which,  by  their  own  show¬ 
ing,  it  is  in  their  power  to  give,  or  at  least  so  much  as  is  nec¬ 
essary  to  convince  us.  Meanwhile,  we  are  obliged  to  fall  back 
upon  mere  vulgar  terrestrial  science,  or  even  conjecture,  to 
determine  whether  there  are  any  spirits  at  all. 

Could  science  demonstrate  to  the  universal  satisfaction  of 
men,  how  all  the  facts  are  to  be  explained  by  psychological  or 
other  terrestrial  laws  of  nature,  it  would  be,  just  now,  for  many 
minds,  no  ordinary  boon  of  science.  Or  if  science  could,  on  the 
other  hand,  demonstrate  that  the  spirit-theory  is  the  true  expla¬ 
nation,  it  were  better  than  nothing.  Yet  when  I  consider  that 
anciently,  for  five  hundred  years,  it  was  investigated  by  men 
who  made  it  the  study  of  their  lives,  men  who,  in  many  re¬ 
spects,  and  perhaps  in  all  respects,  notAvithstanding  the  boasts 
of  modern  self-complacent  ignorance  of  its  superior  knowledge, 
were  better  qualified  for  its  full  and  thorough  examination  than 
any  men  of  the  present  time ;  and  Avho  certainly  knew  hoAV  to 
produce  the  manifestations  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  we  ; 
and  still  find  that  the  result  was  only  the  same  uncertainty 

25 


194 


and  contrariety  of  opinions  as  among  us ;  I  cannot  help  con¬ 
cluding  that  we  have  not  much  to  hope  for  from  science. 

If  science  could  explain  it  by  the  ordinary  laws  of  nature, 
it  would  soon  die  out,  with  other  nine  days’  wonders,  there  be¬ 
ing  nothing,  probably,  in  the  terrestrial  aspect  of  it,  of  suffi¬ 
cient  consequence  to  keep  it  alive.  True,  it  makes  large  pre¬ 
tensions  in  the  way  of  curing  diseases,  by  means  of  clairovy- 
ance  and  magnetism  ;  yet,  I  think  it  cannot  be  denied  that, 
even  without  the  spirits,  it  is  much  more  likely  to  derange  the 
nervous  system  and  general  health  of  those  who  come  under 
its  influence,  than  to  cure  those  already  diseased.  For  who 
would  choose  to  subject  himself  or  his  children  to  such  effects 
as  are  witnessed  at  biological  exhibitions.  But  if  it  be  admit¬ 
ted  that  it  may  in  some  cases,  have  proved  useful,  as  almost 
any  other  excitement  of  body  or  mind  often  does,  it  is  so  mani¬ 
festly  liable  to  abuses  of  the  worst  kind,  that  there  is  no  occasion 
to  wonder  at  the  ancient  dread,  and  the  modern  Eastern  horror, 
of  the  “  evil  eye.”  But  this  is  a  matter  which  woidd,  for  the 
most  part,  soon  correct  itself— people  would  learn  to  keep  out 
of  the  way  of  it,  or  “  invoke  Nemesis,”  as  of  old.  It  is  only  in 
its  religious  aspect  and  pretensions  that  it  is  of  much  impor¬ 
tance  ; — if  indeed,  that  can  be  said  to  have  any  religious  as¬ 
pect  wffiich  denies  the  existence  of  all  spiritual  relations,  and 
subverts  the  very  ground  of  all  religion.  But  certainly,  only 
in  its  relation  to  that  which  is  religion,  could  it  be  thought 
worthy  of  any  very  serious  notice,  much  less  of  the  derisive 
irony,  the  sarcastic  and  indignant  ridicule,  wdiich  its  boastful 
and  arrogant  pretensions,  not  so  much  religious,  as  hostile  to 
all  religion,  so  well  deserve,  and  which,  truly  is,  I  think,  the 
only  style  in  which  a  Christian  man  can  condescend  to  speak 
of  it  in  its  religious  bearings  ;  for  who  of  us  would  not  blush 
to  ask  Christianity  to  permit  itself  to  be  seriously  compared 
with  such  a  meagre  hashup  of  heathanism  redivivus  ?  But 
let  physical  science  explain  its  physical  manifestations  if  it 
can  ;  let  it  demonstrate  the  spirit-origin  of  its  doctrines  if  it 


195 


can.  It  is  plain,  nevertheless,  that  the  character  of  its  moral 
phenomena  is  not  to  be  determined  by  their  origin,  or  by  the 
nature  of  the  physical  manifestations  which  may  accompany 

them,  or  by  any  rules  of  physical  science,  but  by  the  laws  of 
morality,  and  the  spiritual  intuitions  of  mankind.  Practically^ 

then,  the  origin  of  the  doctrines  of  the  “  new  dispensation  ”  is 
of  very  little  consequence,  except  that  the  incautious  may  be 
more  likely  to  believe  and  confide  in  them  if  supposed  to  be  of 
spirit-origin.  It  is  certain,  that,  taken  as  a  whole,  they  have 
had  their  origin  from  some  evil  intelligence,  and  they  are  to 
he  judged  of  and  practically  regarded  in  precisely  the  same 
way,  whether  that  intelligence  is  in  the  terrestrial,  or  any 
other  sphere.  Let  physical  science,  then,  do  what  it  can,  or 
do  nothing.  We  have  all  the  data  necessary  to  determine  the 
essential  origin  of  this  new  (so  called)  development,  its  essen¬ 
tial  character,  and  the  science  by  which  to  understand  and 
judge  it  in  all  its  es&entml  and  important  features,  facts,  and 
relations.  The  spiritits  cry  out  “  Galileo,”  and  accuse  those 
who  do  not  adopt  their  opinions  of  condemning  what  they  have 
not  investigated,  and  do  not  understand,  and  assure  us  that, 
if  we  would  attend  the  “  sittings  ”  and  “  circles,”  “  the  mani¬ 
festations  ”  would  not  fail  to  convince  us  of  their  origin  in  spir¬ 
it-agency  ;  truly  !  and  Avhat  if  they  should  so  convince  us  ! 

Tables  move,  bells  are  rung,  guitars  are  played,  pencils 
write  without  hands,  people  are  slapt  in  the  face,  young  la¬ 
dies’  combs  are  thrown  upon  the  floor,  their  hair  is  dishev¬ 
elled,  and  their  dresses  and  persons  otheinvise  treated  in  a 
very  indelicate  and  unspiritual  manner,  and  all  this,  and  more 
of  the  same  sort,  demonstrably,  by  the  agency  of  invisible 
spirits ;  but  the  same  spirits,  by  various  methods,  communi¬ 
cate  certain  opinions  in  regard  to  the  character  of  God,  the 
duty  of  man,  and  the  destiny  of  the  human  soul  after  death  : 
— therefore  !  !  these  opinions  are  true,  and  reliable,  Avorthy  to 
command  the  belief,  and  to  guide  the  conduct  of  men  !  “  0 

most  learned  Judge  !  a  Daniel  come  to  judgement !  yea  a 


196 


Daniel !  ”  is  tins  tlie  logic  by  which  you  would  have  us  Inves¬ 
tigate  “  what  we  do  not  understand  ?  ”  by  which  you  would 
convince  us  that  the  consciousnesses  which  constitute  us  men 
in  distinction  from  animals  are  mere  hallucinations  ?  All 
religious  and  moral  belief  resolves  itself  ultimately  into  a 
matter  of  choice  and  moral  election,  that  is,  into  the  degree 
and  kind  of  moral  developmeat ;  “  he  that  is  of  God  heareth 
God’s  words  and  these  again  depend  upon  a  similar  choice 
carrying  with  it  a  like  spiritual  responsibility ;  he  that  hateth 
the  light,  neither  cometh  to  the  light,  chooses  to  remain  in 
darkness. 

Let  those  who  choose,  or  who  by  the  laAV  of  affinity  are  at¬ 
tracted  thither,  take  their  place  in  the  animal  sphere,  emulous 
of  the  instinctive  virtues  and  of  the  happiness  of  the  bee-hive 
and  the  ant-heap  ;  seeking  as  the  ultimate  earthly  aim  of 
man,  beyond  which  “  Progress  ”  itself  can  no  farther  go  in 
this  Avorld,  the  recovery  of  that  “  LaAV  of  Association  ”  Avhich 
is  his  inherently,  and  which,  originally,  did  actually  constitute 
and  croAvn  his  unsophisticated  high  estate,  till,  in  an  evil  hour, 
he  learned  the  use  of  language  (see  Nature’s  Divine  Revela¬ 
tions)  that  fatal  invention  “  for  the  purpose  of  concealing  one’s 
thoughts,”  and  by  that  learning  fell !  !  “  Oh,  what  a  fall  was 

there,  my  countrymen  !  then,  you  and  I,  and  all  of  us,  fell 
down !” 

The  “  NeAV  Dispensation,”  like  other  epidemic  fanaticisms, 
will  have  its  day.  For  all  spiritual  truth,  or  untruth,  I  re¬ 
peat,  is  tentative,  and  a  test  of  the  spiritual  state,  or  charac¬ 
ter,  of  those  to  whom  it  is  addressed — hence  false  doctrine  in 
religion  is  called  aipstfif,  heresy,  or  perverse  choice.  And  the 
doctrines  of  this  development  cannot  fail  to  find  their  fit¬ 
ting  soil,  and  appropriate  correlation, — in  this  period  especial¬ 
ly, — when  the  “  auri  sacra  fames"”  has  become  a  wide-spread 
famine — in  the  minds  of  vast  numbers  of  men  to  whom  they 
are  but  the  expression  of  their  very  Avishes.  Indeed,  if  we 
may  believe  their  authors  and  promulgators,  they  already 


197 


meet  glad  responses  from  all  directions.  This  is  as  it  should 
be.  It  cannot  be,  and  we  need  not  wish  it  to  be  otherwise, — 
for  the  character  is  not  made  worse  by  the  test  that  reveals  it. 
And  in  relation  to  spiritual  truth  all  forms  of  spiritual  false¬ 
hood  are  indifferent.  To  some,  even  of  these,  it  may  prove 
useful  to  find  what  spirit  they  are  of. 

Yet  I  trust  that  a  large  proportion  of  those  who  are  claimed 
as  believers, — I  have  myself  been  reckoned  one — are  mere 
investigators  of  the  subject,  or  persons  who  are  indulging  a 
temporary  curiosity,  already,  to  my  knowledge,  satisfied,  in 
many  instances, — that  very  many  others  who  reckon  them¬ 
selves  believers,  are  persons  spiritually  undeveloped  rather 
than  7nisdeveloped,  and  to  whom  therefore  the  error  may  not 
be  fatal  because  not  wilful — that  many  others  are  carried 
along,  or  go  along,  with  the  movement,  without  knoAving  to 
what  they  are  committing  themselves, — their  attention  having 
been  absorbed  by  the  manifestations  Avithout  much  inquiry  in 
regard  to  the  doctrines  AAdnch  accompany  them.  To  all  such, 
and  to  all  others  whose  curiosity  prompts  them  to  a  personal 
examination  of  the  subject,  as  say  the  spiritists,  so  say  I, 
investigate,  investigate,  make  yourselves  fully  acquainted 
Avith  the  doctrine,  and  the  whole  doctrine  in  its  relation  to 
religion,  and — if  you  like  it,  if  you  deliberately  choose  it,  I 
haA^e  not  another  Avord  to  say,  “  non  est  disputandum,”  it  is 
not  a  matter  to  talk  about.  But  do  not  he  deceived  by  the 
palpable  sophisin,  that,  because  you  cannot  account  for  the 
phenomena,  you  are  therefore  to  accept  as  true  doctrines 
which  outrage  your  religious  conscious?iess.  The  phenome¬ 
na  of  spiritism  (let  me  repeat)  should  be  diAuded  into  two  not 
merely  distinct,  but  different  classes.  1st,  The  physical 
manifestations — which  include  not  only  movements  of  heavy 
bodies,  apparent  violations  of  the  laAvs  of  gravity,  but  the 
method,  the  modus  operandi  of  all  intelligent  communica¬ 
tions.  These  let  physical  and  mental  science  explain — let 
them  demonstrate  to  us — anybody  can  theorise — the  cause  or 


198 


causes  of  them  if  they  are  able  i  and  if  the  spirits  of  dead 
men  are  shown  to  he  the  agents  in  the  production  of  the  phe¬ 
nomena,  be  it  so,  we  shall  have  arrived  at  the  knowledge  of 
one  fact,  a  fact,  however,  by  itself,  of  very  little  consequence. 
2d,  The  moral  or  religious  manifestations,  that  is,  the  doc¬ 
trine,  or  religions  character  of  the  intelligent  communications 
— and  it  is  plain  that  the  religious  character  of  these  commu¬ 
nications,  so  far  as  they  have  any  religious  character,  is  not 
demonstrated  to  be  good,  simply  because  it  may  have  been 
demonstrated  that  spirits  are  the  authors  of  them, — -it  is  plain 
that  the  science  which  has  shown  us  how,  and  by  what  causes 
the  communications  are  produced  may  be  incompetent  to  de¬ 
termine  the  character  of  them  as  good  or  evil.  This,  in  order 
to  be  rightly  determined,  nmst  he  determined  by  a  different 
science,  but  will  he  determined  by  each  individual  very  much 
according  to  his  own  personal  character. 

Let  then,  those  who  choose  and  dare,  degrade  “The  Living 
God  ”  to  a  “  Principle,”  and  themselves  to  animals,  that  they 
may  escape  the  moral  accountability  of  men  ;  certainly  Chris¬ 
tians  will  not  shrink  from  the  high,  and — above  the  whole 
mere  nature-sphere  of  cause  and  effect — 5M^>er-natural  digni¬ 
ty  of  humanity  because  it  bring  with  it  correspondingly  high 
and  supernatural  dangers  and  responsibilities.  At  the  same 
time,  it  is  not  for  us  to  deny  that  we  have  forfeited  this  divi- 
nest  birthright ;  to  boast  of  our  goodness  and  self-reliance  ; 
or  to  distrust  the  consciousness  which  asserts  our  guilt,  our 
weakness,  and  our  hopelessness,  except  through  the  “^rorce” 
of  a  Divine  Interposition. 

Let  those  for  whom  it  is  the  highest  conception,  fancy  to 
themselves  a  heaven  which  shall  be  as  this  world  beatified, 
where  the  senses,  the  tastes,  and  the  social  affections  shall 
find  their  fullest  and  most  perfect  enjoyment ;  for  ourselves, 
let  us  be  content  if  we  may  be  found  worthy  to  attain  to  that 
world  where  they  “  neither  marry  nor  are  given  in  marriage 
where  the  physiological  and  sensuous  give  place  to  higher  re¬ 
lations.  Let  those  who  need  and  dare,  invite  the  presence 


199 


and  influence  of  familiar  spirits,  and  take  counsel  of  the  souls 
of  the  dead ;  for  us,  it  shall  suffice,  if  God  take  not  His  Holy 
Spirit  from  us.  Let  those  to  whose  character  he  is  correla¬ 
tive,  or  to  whose  wishes  he  corresponds,  fancy  to  themselves, 
or  find  in  Nature,  a  God,  who  in  his  moral  attributes  is  far 
below  the  demands  even  of  the  half  unfolded  religious  con¬ 
sciousness  of  mankind — as  if  the  stream  should  rise  high 
above  its  source — -a  God,  who  “  nec  bene  promeritis  capitur, 
neque  tangitur  ira,”  who  cares  not  for  our  virtues,  and  takes 
no  offence  at  our  vices  ;  we  will  still  adhere  to  Him  who  is 
The  Holy  One,  whose  definition  is  also,  indeed.  The  Good, 
but  in  whose  goodness,  along  with  a  Divine  Compassion  un¬ 
known  to  those  who  have  mistaken  for  it  the  moral  imbecility 
of  their  Epicurean  Deity,  there  is  inherent  and  constitutive, 
transcendent  Justice,  which,  in  its  relation  to  Sin,  is,  and  can 
only  be  “  a  consuming  fire.”  Let  those  to  whom  it  is  appro¬ 
priate  pay  their  Nature-worship  to  the  great  Productive  Prin¬ 
ciple  ;  their  aweless  and  irreverent  homage  to  the  unconscious 
Immutable  Laws  ;  and  melt  in  sentimental  emotion  at  visible 
beauty,  or  in  poetic  gratitude  to  beneficent  Nature  :  as  for  us, 
still  unto  the  King  Eternal,  Invisible,  the  transcendently  per¬ 
sonal  “  I  AM,”  we  will  not  cease  to  offer,  through  Christ 
Jesus,  our  love  and  our  fear,  become  one  in  Adoration. 


CHAPTER  XV. 
“More  Last  Words.” 


^Vhile  tho  last  sheets  of  the  preceding  Chapter  were  going 
through  the  Press  Mr.  Dods’  Book,  “  Spirit  Manifestations 
Examined  and  Explained,”  was  put  into  my  hands. 

Pei  haps  the  explanation  may  be  found  in  the  direction  in 
which  he  is  looking  for  it.  The  theory  by  which  he  asserts 
that  “  the  manifestations  ”  are  explainable— for  it  is  no  more 
than  a  theory— is  certainly  not  less  credible  than  that  of  spir¬ 
it-agency.  It  is,  hoAvever,  little  more  than  apocatastatical  of 

similar  attempts  of  the  ancients  to  explain  the  same  things. _ 

Compare  what  is  said  on  pp.  81-3-4  of  Mr.  Dods’  work°with 
pp.  102—3—4  of  the  present  volume,  and  page  101,  with  page 
106,  also  page  185,  with  page  103.  The  theories  are  not  per¬ 
haps  identical — the  difference  is  mostly  verbal — but  they  are 
about  equally  explanatory  of  the  facts  ;  yet  none  of  them 
reach  all  the  alledged  phenomena.  I  Avould  that,  for  the  sake 
of  those  who  are  folloAving  the  lead  of  the  spirits,  “  in  wan¬ 
dering  mazes  lost,”  the  explanation  had  been  such  as  could 
not  be  evaded  by  those  unwilling  to  accept  any  explanation 
but  their  own.  These  are  the  willing,  and  many  of  them 
wilful  seducers,  without  whom  few  would  long  continue  in  a 


201 


path  which  was  found  to  conduct  no  whither,  except  to  a 
“  fools’  paradise.” 

My  own  plan,  as  the  reader  is  aware,  did  not  contemplate 
any  investigation  of  the  causes  of  the  phenomena.  My  pur¬ 
pose  was  rather  to  examine  the  lofty  claims  of  the  develop¬ 
ment  to  entitle  itself  “The  New  Dispensation,”  “The  New 
Era,”  “  Progress  ”  &c  ;  and  its  arrogant  and  impious  preten¬ 
sions  to  take  precedence  of  Christianity. 

It  may  be  thought  by  some  that  I  have  made  use  of  lan¬ 
guage  too  severe  and  harsh  towards  men  who,  in  my  opinion, 
are  merely  in  error,  and  have  only  adopted  an  incorrect 
theory. 

The  severity,  if  such  there  be,  was  not  intended  for  mere 
investigators  of  the  subject,  or  for  those  who  are  puzzled  by 
the  phenomena,  and  know  not  what  to  think,  or  think  wrong  ; 
or  for  honest  mediums,  or  honest  believers  in  them, — except 
that  I  do  not  understand  how  an  honest  Christian  can  be  either 
a  medium  for  necromancy,  or  a  believer  in  its  responses, — such 
it  has  been  my  main  purpose  to  aid,  in  all  love  and  sincere 
good-will,  in  forming  correct  opinions  on  so  important  a  sub¬ 
ject,  wherein  it  is  important,  that  is,  in  regard  to  its  moral 
•pheno'mena.  But  if  any  man  can  read  what  I  have  read  of 
the  language  of  the  leaders  of  the  movement,  both  men  and 
spirits — ■“  Spiritualism  ”  included,  notwithstanding  what  Mr. 
Dods  says  of  its  handsome  treatment  of  Christianity — in  re¬ 
gard  to  God,  and  man,  and  the  Christian  religion,  without  the 
feeling  of  an  “  honest  indignation  ”  which  would  scorn  to  ex¬ 
press  itself  as  if  it  found  very  little  to  disapprove — truly,  such 
a  man  is  a  much  better,  or  a  much  worse  Christian  than  I  am. 
And  tho’  an  honest  man  might  be  in  doubt,  on  looking  over 
the  whole  shallow  blasphemy,  whether  it  were  proper  to  think 
worse  of  the  head  or  of  the  heart  of  its  authors,  certainly  he 
could  not  think  much  better  of  the  heart  than  of  the  head. 

Setting  aside  the  religious  pretensions  of  spiritism,  it  is  of 
no  more  importance  than  the  feats  of  Herr  Alexander ;  yet  it 

26 


202 


is  probable  that  nothing  less  than  the  most  palpable  showing 
of  how  each  phenomenon  of  whatever  kind  has  been,  and  can 
be,  at  pleasure,  produced,  without  the  agency  of  spirits,  will 
now  silence  its  claims  in  that  respect  among  those  to  whom  its 
doctrines  are  welcome,  and  who  would  gladly  appeal  to  what¬ 
ever  authority  may  seem  to  confirm  them.  And  even  should 
full  demonstration  of  the  falsehood  of  the  spirit-theory  be 
arrived  at,  will  not  the  New  Dispensation  still  trust  in  its 
clairvoyant  seers,  and  put  faith  in  cataleptic  visions,  and  ap¬ 
peal  to  its  mesmerically  evolved  divine  instincts  and  intui¬ 
tions  ?  Though  it  rejoices  in  the  patronage  of  the  spirits, 
would  it  not,  without  them,  and  dropping  its  physical  mani¬ 
festations,  still  “  fit  audience  find,”  and  that  not  “  few  ?  ” 

Since,  then,  its  moral  phenomena,  its  religious  pretensions, 
are  neither  more  nor  less  reliable,  whether  they  are,  or  are 
not  accredited  by  spirits,  what  remains  but  that  its  doctrines 
be  judged  on  their  own  merits,  wholly  irrespective  of  their 
origin,  and  unprotected  by  the  sophism  of  their  source  whether 
real  or  pretended  |  and  that  men  accept  or  reject  them  accor¬ 
ding  to  their  moral  affinities,  under  responsibility  to  God,  and 
to  their  own  spiritual  well-being.  So  shall  it  take  its  place 
among  other  infidelities,  nibbling  at  the  heel  of  Christianity, 
like  its  thousand  and  one  equally  boastful  predecessors  and 
allies  to  be  crushed  in  its  turn. 


FINIS. 


'^ahlB  Df  (^ontfiits, 


CHAPTER  1. 

The  Stars,  ----- 

PAGE. 

3. 

CHAPTER  IL 

The  Republics,  -  -  _  _ 

-  la 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Gods,  ----- 

-  25. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Cosmogonies,  -  -  -  - 

-  83. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Fascination, . 

-  47. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Vaticinating  Waters,  -  -  - 

-  64. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Manifestations,  -  -  -  - 

-  73. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Necromancy,  ----- 

-  88. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Theoretic, . 

-  99. 

CHAPTER  X. 
Differences  of  Opinion,  - 

-  111. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Elysium, . 

-  121. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Heathenism  redivivus,  -  -  - 

-  142. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Dasmonopathy,  -  -  -  - 

-  156. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Dogmata, . 

-  165. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

More  last  words,  -  -  -  - 

-  200. 

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The  apocatastasis;  or,  Progress 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1  1012  00008  7801 


